One Piece Of A Creed
by PolarFanfiction
Summary: It started, as most stories often do, with a mistake. After a assassination turns into a problem that threatens a secret Brotherhood, Nami is dragged from her life into a world of cloaks, ropes, blades and adventure. LuNa A/U Assassin's Creed setting.
1. The First

**I'm Bear D Polar**

**And ****I'm**** Shadowonthewall6**

**P: And welcome to the first Chapter our PS One Piece + Assassin's Creed Collaboration Project.**

**S: It's an odd combination I know, but we still hope you'll enjoy this story.**

**P: Hell, it's a story in itself how we agreed to publish this. Not to mention how much we got written already.**

**S: Ah yes, but it's a story for another day. After all, I'm pretty sure the readers would prefer to read about assassin Luffy going around on adventures than us discussing all the spoiler filled content.**

**P: No kidding. In fact, no one has even heard from me in a while except from maybe a few comments from you. Well anyway, I'm FINALLY writing again. DID YOU MISS ME?!... Thought not. For all those wondering why, there are a lot of reasons; laziness, school work, video games, One Piece, depression, take your pick.**

**S: I think I'll choose School Work :3  
>Anyway, we're getting off topic. The point is that you're back AND you're bringing this awesome story along with you :P<strong>  
><strong>I guess so. Anyway, as mentioned above, this is Collaboration between myself and Shadowon. We merely agreed that I would post it on my profile do to how many stories Shadowon is already juggling on his plate, as appose to my two. <strong>

**P: With that said, do enjoy.**

**3D2Y**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or Assassin's Creed. They belong to Eiichiro Oda and Ubisoft Montreal.**

**ANIMUS STARTING. TO SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE, CLICK ON IT AND MOVE THE WHEEL ON THE MOUSE TOWARDS YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME FOR LETTING US HELP YOU HELP US HELP YOU ALL.**

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><p><strong>One Piece of a Creed<strong>

**Chapter 1: The first**

Our story begins long ago, when the world was nothing more than sand and ash. The country of Alabasta was a large area to the east, under the control of the great pirate lord Edward Newgate, who ruled the land with an iron grasp. Recently, trouble had entered the area as a wave of religious marines had swept into the country, led by the 'Buddha' Sengoku, who planned to create a new holy kingdom of the celestial dragons in the new world. Currently, a war is now underway, between the pirate armada and the marine core in an attempt to gain control of the east.

The city of Rainbase was one safely away from the conflicts. A simple town ruled by the warlord Crocodile, who had long since defected from the pirate side of the war when the marines had first arrived on the shore. Rainbase was the center of the nightlife, a place constantly awake with the sounds of partying and celebration. Bars and casinos were spread far and wide over the vast expanse of the city, though the greatest was Rain Dinners, shown by the large crocodile statue mounted atop a mighty pyramid. It was part of Crocodile's estate and a rich source of income for the town. This was a town too big for its own good. It was the kind of place that focused on the whole picture, rather than the individual...

It was perfect...at least, for one band of visitors...

The gate guards didn't even blink as three Celestial scholars walked past them into the vast playground.

"...Hey, weren't those guys wearing armor?" one of the guards called to the other.

"Yeah. Maybe that's just the new fashion" the other guard replied with a shrug.

"Seems a little strange though..." the first guard commented.

"BUT THEY WERE PRAYING AND EVERYTHING!" the second guard argued "just take no notice. They're just scholars...I mean, how much trouble could they cause?" Once inside, the three scholars continued to walk slowly down the streets, engulfed in their seven fingered praying hands. Slowly, the three of them turned off the main road, into a side passage way and then, they instantly dropped their fake pretenses and their hands.

The man who had entered the room first had thick dark hair that reached his shoulders and poked out from under his hood. He wore a purple sash around his waist. The men's costume didn't differ too much from each other, with the second man having a green hamarki around and his waist, whilst the third possessed a red sash around his waist. The three were all dressed in white hooded robes, their faces obscured from sight.

"We need to move" the leader of the group mumbled, turning around to look the man behind him in the eye, his only eye as it turned out as the other had a large scar over it.

"Okay then..." the green haired man grunted from underneath his white hood, before turning to face the man behind him "I and Ace are going to go meet up with Usopp. Apparently, his thieves are getting roughed up a little by Crocodile's thugs, so we'll need to teach them a lesson"

"We might check in with Kokoro as well" Ace revealed "I hear that her girls might need some assistance...are you okay with that?"

"I can do this on my own" the last man reminded them, silently staring back at Ace.

"I don't doubt that Luffy" Ace defended himself "but this Daz Bones you're supposed to kill is one tough customer"

"I'll be fine" Luffy calmly assured his brother.

"But Dragon..."

"Worries too much" Luffy finished for him "I'll be fine. You two get going"

"Make sure to..." the green haired man began, only for Luffy to interrupt him as well.

"Check in with Usopp at the bureau. Gotcha"

"Safety and peace Luffy..." the green haired man muttered as a farewell.

"Safety and peace Zoro, Ace..." Luffy replied. Ace nodded and with that, the two men fled the scene, climbing to the high heights of the city. Luffy stood there a moment longer, before he too took off into the night, his lucky straw-hat billowing in the wind on a string behind him.

* * *

><p>"~NAMI! YOU'RE ON IN TWO MINUTES! ~" a voice called from nearby. The long orange haired girl smiled at the call, and turned to face the man who was standing behind the curtain, her wavy hair flicking up behind her head. "Okay Bon. I'll be ready soon enough" she said with a smile.<p>

_**P**_

The young lady known as Nami was just making some last touches to her outfit before going on stage. Adjusting the decorative tiara on her head, she takes one last look at herself through the vanity. She was wearing a blue, decorative, triangular cut, bikini top along with a cream-ish, ankle length flowing, sleeveless, silky, light coloured jacket that had decorative trees of some kind with delicious looking ripped oranges sprouting from the vines knitted expertly into it. While showing off her midriff below her top and between her flowing vest, she had her legs covered with a long matching cream-ish ankle length skirt, with a single loose frill that came from her right hip and down to the left of the hem of her skirt from the front and back, along a loosely tied blue sash with vines of some kind sprouting oranges as well around her hips. All this along with a couple of accessories, like the as for mention tiara on her head, her golden drooping earring with small orange spheres at the bottom, a necklace with a triangular chain with another spherical orange ornament in-between, a thin shining golden bracelet hanging on her left arm, and as well as two thicker golden bracelets with large circular bumps on four sides between the edges, one clinging to her upper arm each. The young woman's sleeveless outfit however also showed off her exposed tattoo on her shoulder, some sort of blue pinwheel with a circular object, possibly a matching blue orange, sprouting at the top of the round-ish pin.

The young Nami gave a satisfied nod, before making a quick twirl, showing off the loose fabric that flowed around her, wrapping around her body lightly as she stopped before it all readjusting itself to its proper position. Nodding once again and pumping her fist in front of the mirror before making sure one last time her sash was properly tied before turning around to walk off.

As she left her room, two other girls, both with blue hair, one long enough to reach a bit past her shoulders. She also wore a red head band that was tied over her forehead and below her hair, with her fringe combed to hang from the left side of her face. All the while the other one's hair reached a bit past her hips, her hair was held from the back of her head by a blue designedly crafted hair pin and was combed to part separately away from her forehead, letting the top fringes hang from both sides of her head. Both were wearing similar outfits to Nami, though there were a few minor differences. They both wore similar but plainer blue bikini tops, but the longer haired one had a more circular cut along with a more string like necklace with three circles hanging off it separately. Her sleeveless jacket and skirt was more of a pure white and the former was decorated with what appeared to be golden sprinkles with a blue shapeless liquid, as if it was mixed with both the sea and the sand. In front of her skirt as well was an almost as long rectangular blue apron with a golden frame. She also wore less accessories, with a mere golden bracelet with a bit of blue on it clinging below her right elbow, as well as some drooping earrings of her own.

The sorter haired one wore a blue bikini top with less of a bottom, showing a bit more of the skin under her chest, and also had a round-cut, and also had a similar necklace to the other blue haired girl, but with four triangles hanging separately from the sips. Her jacket and skirt was a deep-ish red, matching her head band, with the jacket having white-ish smog flowing around it, like clouds of some kind that would block out a bit of the sun letting them shine. Her skirt had three thrills around the hem and another two around the waist. She wore drooping golden earrings like the former, and a small cylinder shaped bracelet a bit below her left shoulder.

"Good luck Nami, we'll be playing together a bit later."

Nami nods at the longer haired girl, "I know Vivi, thanks."

"Yeah, of course you do, see you later sis!" The other one, Nami's sister, calls farewell too.

Nami waves back, "See you soon Nojiko." she says before walking towards the stage she would be performing onto.

Nami stood bare foot on the stage as her name was called. She briefly glanced at the large audience in front of her before as she waited for the music to start. Taking a subtle deep brief Nami started moving as the music played, letting her body take over as she moved to the much rehearsed dance she had been preparing for. Starting slow at first as her movements consisted of just walking and adjusting her arms, letting her body show off both the beauty of its natural movements, and her cloths providing subtle imagery. As the music slowly picked up, so did her. As she began to twirl a bit, and her movements become progressively more complicated, but still simple to follow.

In the midst of her dancing and one of her spins, she grins to herself as she takes off her sash while her back was turned to the audience. His provided an extension to her movements, allowing her to further entrance the people before her to herself, as a snake dances to hypnotize it's pray, but in this case, it was more to add to the eyes appeal, a bird spreading it's wings. Nami herself liked to think of it as a cat waving her tail about.

Nami grins at the effect she was having. One way or another, she was succeeding in entertaining her audience. And she felt a swell of pride as she finishes up the dance with one last twirl and a flick of her sash, before lightly bowing to the people before her, letting the claps fill the room.

* * *

><p>In the dark of the night, a lone figure jumps a top building to building, avoiding whatever attention that he could encounter from both the city streets below or whoever patrolled the building tops. As the man hurried through the skies, he notes the peculiar structure he had spotted earlier and was currently looking for. Grinning under his hat and hood, the man quickly dashes towards the wooden structure, walking around it to find an entrance from the ceiling.<p>

Lightly jumping down, landing in a small pond and walking down a small narrow room, before walking through the curtains at end. There he entered another room, where he spotted a man with an oddly long nose tending to a bar.

_**S**_

"Good evening sir, what can I get for you?" the long nosed man asked, turning to face Luffy with a smile.

"That water drank by neither gods nor demons for I am just a man" Luffy responded calmly, taking his position in front of him. The long nosed man smiled as the code was spoke aloud and, with a wide grin, he looked up at Luffy.

"Ah! Luffy! It's good to see you!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"Safety and peace Usopp" Luffy replied with a smile of his own "how goes the business?"

"Not so bad" Usopp admitted "after all, life continues on despite a man's best intentions, so I can't complain"

"Indeed..." Luffy agreed "how's Kaya?"

"She's pregnant"

"Seriously?" Luffy asked in confusion "well then Usopp, I'm very happy for you"

"Thank you" Usopp replied, before looking Luffy dead in the eye "so, what are you here for?"

"Daz Bones" Luffy stated simply "and the feather I need..."

"Of course" Usopp said "though you will need to show me you have enough knowledge for the job. Maybe you should look around and find out more on..."

"Daz Bones, also known as Hizashi Kita, Samuel Reed and Mr 1. He's a Templar working for Crocodile as the captain of the guards. He's mostly seen around Rain Dinners and is known for coming in to watch the dancing girls. When he is in Rain Dinners, security around the casino is reinforced to all entrances and exits...except the front gate, which remains guarded by four guards, each armed with pole weapons. I plan to get inside past them and then, when Daz makes a move for the toilet or, if he goes out of sight of others, I will slay him dead and escape via the main exit..."

Luffy explained. Usopp was definitely surprised at this.

"You've done your research" he said with a smile "I know Dragon will be proud of you!" Luffy said nothing as he took the feather from Usopp, before heading for the exit.

"Safety and peace Usopp" he called as he left.

"You shall deliver us both" Usopp replied with a bow "come back to visit sometime my old friend" Luffy nodded with a smile, before pouncing up the way he had come.

_**P**_

Climbing out of back to the building tops, Luffy takes a quick look around. Briefly searching his memory bank to recall the detail of the vast city he had a look around before heading to Usopp, he concluded the fastest and least suspicious way to get to Rain Dinner. "It's not like it's hard to spot anyway." Luffy think to himself as he hurries over the buildings.

Luffy however spots a guard patrolling one of the roofs. Rather than killing the man, Luffy simply makes a jump downward towards a conveniently placed hay stack, before getting out and opting to walk with the crowd, silently passing the people walking through the streets before he took a path in a back alley.

* * *

><p>"Sounds like you gave them quite a show." Nojiko comments as Nami re-enters the room.<p>

Nami briefly looks around to see her two fellow dancers, her friend and her sister, before sitting down next to them. "Yeah, of course, I was hardly going to mess up, especially not tonight." Nami says proudly at them.

"Don't get too cocky, I heard some famous guy is coming here..." Nojiko says but then stops herself like she was forgetting something.

"Daz Bones," Vivi says, "he's a Captain who regularly comes by, though I'm not sure obviously what business he has." Vivi says thoughtfully.

Nami just chuckles a bit, "I doubt it really matters unless he intends to pay us extra or something, but we just need to do our thing and not choke."

Nojiko lightly laughs at this, "That goes without saying, especially considering all three of us are going to be performing.

Nami shrugs at this. They all knew the routine, and they all knew that they could easily pull it off, but they also felt the need to encourage each other. Nami sighs lightly as she goes back to the vanity to sort herself out. "I guess we should get ready."

* * *

><p>"There you are." Luffy mutters as he leans behind a corner to spot the entrance to the giant building. On cue as well was four guards, each standing there, but unprepared for what awaited them. Luffy smirks as he grasps his wrist, "This will be over quickly."<p>

_**S**_

Slowly, Luffy approached the nearby guards, weaving in through the large crowd of gamblers with ease. As he walked, Luffy's hand slipped in and out of the civilian's pockets, grabbing wallets and loose change as he went. Finally, when he was nearing the door, he decided to quickly take the initiative. Dragon had always said that misdirection was the best tactic in these situations. After all, someone won't notice you pinching their arm if you're gripping their hand tight enough...

Suddenly, without warning, Luffy stuck his foot out in the crowd, knocking over a nearby pedestrian, before slipping into the side pathway. As the man fell, two of the guards noticed his stumble and quickly walked over to help him up. Several of the other walkers had stopped. Luffy, however, was far enough ahead that he could slip past the two guards easily, without any need to show identification.

The casino was quite large and it seemed like almost everything in the room sparkled. Luffy hid his surprise behind a veil of calmness as he walked though, calmly ascending the stairs to the top floor. The main dining room had a neat red carpet on the floor, patterned with gold. The seats in the room were crowded but Luffy managed to obtain a seat by the bar.

"Orange juice" he muttered as he noticed the bushy blue haired bar tender turn to him for a second. The woman nodded to him and headed back to the bar. Slowly, Luffy's eyes scanned along the crowd of people in the room. Daz was not among them. Luffy suppressed a growl. Slowly, his eyes turned towards the stage.

Well...at least he'd hopefully get entertained a little tonight with all luck...

_**P**_

Luffy sat back to lean on the bar as he waited for the performers to appear, straying his eye a bit to try and spot his target. He eyed the stage however as he notices a few skinny figures walk on to it. He wasn't too surprise. While he lacked the same amount of interest in women that most men would around his age, he was still mature enough to recognize reasonably attractive girls when he saw them... Still, Luffy found himself oddly interested; likely do to the colourful and interestingly designed outfits to compliment the attractive dancers that were now performing on stage.

He noted that a few of them were wearing transparent veils, though he couldn't quite make out their faces in detail. "I probably should take a closer look, Daz might even by close by." he says with a shrug. Noticing his drink, Luffy muttered polite thanks and walked closer to the stage, being weary not to attract attention.

Leaning across a wall, Luffy took a quick glance before watching the show again. His eyes furrow a bit though as he spots something strange. A young woman, beautiful like the rest, if not more so but she was distinguishable, not just by her outfit or movements, but also by the long locks of orange hair that swayed through the air as she danced to the music.

For this reason or for possibly others beside it, Luffy found this woman the most interesting to watch.

Nami was an experienced dancer. Such things were obvious as she perfectly sinks her movements to the girls beside her, and more obvious as she takes the lead in the dance, adding her own flair that the other girls could follow and even incorporate to their own performance. This experience aloud Nami to think without being too distracted.

As such Nami was able to briefly analyze the audience before her as she moved to the music, only letting herself lose control if she was having too much fun, but never the less keeping an inquiring eye open. She had seen many different sights like this, and was seeing many more tonight. But yet one sight to her, that she only briefly saw, she felt was odd.

She briefly spotted a person in a white cloak, like a scholar. But she felt slightly uneasy as she briefly looked at the presumed man. She ignored this worry however as she allowed herself to simply concentrate on the performance at hand.

_**S**_

Luffy's eyes continued to watch the dancer, as she moved, his gaze focusing on the flow of her hips moving from side to side. The movement was almost entrancing in its simplicity and he found himself unable to look away. This dancing girl was strange to him. No woman had ever heightened his interest like this before and his keen eye slowly scanned her.

As Nami continued to move with the rhythm of the beat, swaying her hips from side to side and twirling to allow the paying patrons to get a better view. Nojiko and Vivi followed her movements all the way, relying on her to be their leader, to guide them. In any ordinary circumstance, this would be fine. But, however, she had become increasingly aware of the scholar's gaze focusing on her. She didn't know why it would matter. After all, she was some poorly street rat who'd got lucky, definitely not worthy of knowing a wise man. She had no chance in hell...but the fact that he was showing interest made me her feel uncomfortable. All she could see of him was the bottom of his face but it looked so well defined that she wasn't sure really how to feel anymore.

Luffy continued to watch Nami, engrossed in her sensual movements. In fact, he was so distracted; he didn't notice the waiter walking past him. By accident, the waiter tripped and was sent flying. At first, he stumbled for a bit before unfortunately colliding with a gentleman nearby. The man's suit was drenched.

"I'm sorry sir...I..." the waiter began, only to be silenced as a dagger struck him in the neck.

"No...You're not...but you are now..." the man muttered, pushing the waiter to the floor. Of course, the crowd wheeled round and this and the dancers stopped as well. Luffy remained still, but his eyes looked over and met the gaze of Daz Bones.

"Target acquired" he thought to himself.

_**P**_

The people around the murderer just stood there silently watching the man as he made his next move. However when he turned to the people they instantly averted their gaze, as if their very presence could encourage the man to kill. He then turned towards the dancers, causing Nami and the others to flinch in anticipation and fear. Soon enough the music had awkwardly started again. The dancers slowly got back together, Nami taking the lead once again. Soon enough, everything was reasonably back to normal.

No one could touch the man. That was just how things were. He was allowed to kill you by simply looking at him wrong, and anyone who called him out or even tried to defend someone from him would meet the same end. It was cruel and harsh, but in Nami's mind, that's just how it worked and as far as she was concerned, that poor man, deserving or not, was just unlucky enough to have cross a far more powerful man.

This was how things were. Yet in the mind of another, this was not right, and this would not stand. Now knowing where the man was, he eyed the man, obviously making sure that his gaze wasn't suspicious enough to alert anyone. As such he occupied his eyes and the show that was now continuing, but now fully concerned about his assignment at hand. And as he keeps a watchful eye on the man, he thought of how he was to dispose of the soon to be dead man.

"I can't do it here..." Luffy thought to himself as he stood in his place patiently. "I'll wait; wait to follow you out of sight, where there will be no witnesses to your passing." And so he did. He waited and waited, just waiting for the right opportunity to kill, until Daz started walking.

_**S**_

As Daz moved, so did Luffy, following in the murderer's footsteps. Luffy had remembered exactly what he had learned when it came to tailing people. The first thing was to never show a complete interest in your prey. Take side roads, bonus paths and make it seem like you're interested in other things. Second, if your prey does notice you, act naturally. Blend in and fake it. The third and most important rule, however, was one Luffy was an expert at following...

Don't cause attention to yourself... rather divert it...

As Daz began to ascend the stairs out of the main hall and into a side corridor, Luffy shadowed the man until he was standing right around the corner. His prey was right within reach. The corridor was empty. He was prepared. All was going perfectly...

"Come on out Assassin!" Daz suddenly shouted, as Luffy reeled quickly around the corner. Luffy remained silent. Hoping that Daz would lose interest and not pursue his superstitions...

"I know you're there assassin" Daz repeated, withdrawing his sword from hiss heath "Do you take me for a fool? I can just SMELL the blood in the air...I saw you at the bar earlier but I decided not to engage you there...here, however, we can finish this one on one, away from prying eyes...I know you hooded devils like that sort of thing"

_**P**_

Luffy narrows his eyes, annoyed at being discovered. Still, now he could kill the man with the direct approach, just how he liked it. Stepping out from his hiding place, Luffy faced the man, reaching into his cloak and deciding he would draw out his sword and play it safe.

"Let's end this quick, I prefer our reputation stayed as infamous as it is for not getting caught." Luffy says, preparing his sword for battle.

The man before him grunts in reply. "It will be a pleasure, to add your kind to my collection of trophies." he announces as he moves forward, blades in hand.

The two cross swords, Luffy's single sword against Daz's two. Daz proceeds to keep one sword pressed down while he attempts to swing his other to Luffy's head. Luffy backs away at this, avoiding the casualty before charging forward to knock Daz back as he swung forward. Luffy swings forward, both hands on his blade for extra power but Daz wisely steps away, not testing his strength. Using the opening to do continuous slashes at Luffy, who blocks the first before backing away.

Luffy furrows his eyes again. It was clear that this guy deserved his title. "This was going to be harder than I thought." Luffy says in his mind as prepares his next move.

* * *

><p>Nami sighs to herself as the performance ended and had walked off stage. She was quiet, not really sure what to make of the earlier event. "At least I got through it, despite everything." Nami thought, trying to be positive.<p>

"... You alright?" Nami looks to see a concerned Vivi.

Nami smiles softly back at this. "Yeah, I'll be alright." Nami replies. Vivi looked rather unconvinced but figured she could talk to her later if it was still bothering her.

"Well done ladies, well done!" An enthusiastic Bon says as he approaches them. "I had quite a scare there, but I'm sure we all did. Go on now and rest, you'll need it."

Nojiko smiles back at him, "Yeah, we will, thanks." Bon smiles and walks away while Nojiko turn to approach the two girls. "Come on, let's go." Nojiko says gently as she grasp Nami's arm to lightly.

_**S**_

"I'll see you guys at five o'clock sharp tomorrow afternoon, okay ladies?" Bon asked, smiling at the girls as they headed out of their dressing room.

"Sure" the girls replied, before Nojiko closed the door to their room.

* * *

><p>Steel met with steel as Luffy spun around, parrying one of Daz's swords, whilst at the same time stopping the other sword from attacking him, flicking it aside before dealing with slashing forwards in the hope of hitting Daz. Daz was not fooled however and he quickly stepped back to dodge Luffy's slice. As Luffy sliced towards Daz once more, however, Daz blocked the attack with his own sword and, in a swift movement, attacking Luffy's sword with his other blade, right near where Luffy's hand was. On instinct, Luffy realized the sword from his grip...only to move his hand quickly to catch it before it hit the floor. Then, he sidestepped and slashed downwards with his weapon. Daz gave a cry of pain as Luffy's mighty blade cleaved straight through Daz's wrist, splitting up his elbow from his hand. Daz, however, was not done yet and spun around himself, slicing straight at Luffy's leg. Luffy stepped back wards away from Daz's attack but the swordsman took the initiative and, in a flash, he had disarmed Luffy with a swift flick of his wrist. The sword hit the floor with a clang and Daz quickly got between it and Luffy.<p>

"You're dead now assassin" Daz growled "no-one disarms Daz Bones and lives to tell the tale" Luffy chuckled at the pun but then, gave a confident smile.

"You know what...I wasn't really a fan of swords anyway" Luffy revealed "and one thing you should know about us assassins is that..." before Luffy continued, he flexed his wrists and, at the movement, two hidden blades protruded from the bottom of his palms "...we also have tricks up our sleeves..."

_**P**_

Daz furrows his brows at this. He charges forward, sword in hand ready to strike. Luffy does the same, charging straight towards the man, blocking his sword with his wrist guard and attempting to stab the man by the throat. Daz however grabs his wrist and forces it back. The two struggled with their respectful strengths before Daz over powers Luffy and knocks him away.

Luffy lands on the ground and attempts to recover, but Daz was already on top of him, swinging his sword for the kill. Luffy however avoids the cut, then quickly leans forward to stab his stomach. Daz crying out in pain, grabs Luffy by his cloths having lost his grip on his sword, and using all his strength and speed to drag and throw the assassin out of the nearby window.

Daz huffed and puffed as he recovers from the near death experience of having an assassin aiming for his life, and a skilled one at that. He smirks, satisfied with his victory. Now all he had to do was collect the body... But something was odd. Daz realized that he should have heard something, something hit the ground. Yet all there was silence besides the wind outside. Daz decided to walk up and check out the window, to see if he had somehow survived or that he merely didn't hear the thud that was expected.

This however, was a lethal mistake, for just below the window where Daz looks out of, the very assassin that he had thrown was not only alive, but had managed to grab on to the wall he was previously descending, having climbed backed up and waited for the perfect opportunity, the perfect opportunity to stab his prey straight through the heart from his hanging position.

Daz surprised eyes bulged in inconceivable shock as he looked at the Assassin in the eyes. In one last powerful swoop, Luffy had dragged Daz off the building and thrown him down the building, watching from his position as he fell to the floor below, ripping through a few sheet on the way, but most likely dead even with his slightly broken fall.

_**S**_

Luffy smiled down at the body...of course, he still needed to wipe the feather against Daz's neck. Slowly, Luffy clambered down from where he was, slowly descending. The street below was a side alley behind the back of rain dinners.

It was a staff exit and currently, it looked like it was empty. Slowly, Luffy descended from on high, landing in a nearby haystack. Quickly, he leaped out of it (slightly surprised he hadn't broken a few bones doing that act) and moved towards the dead body.

"Rest in peace" Luffy muttered, closing the man's eyes with his right hand, whilst his left hand dabbed his feather into the small pile of blood on the floor.

"..Oh my..." the voice caused Luffy to turn around as he spotted someone he had not expected to ever see. It was the orange haired dancer. She was standing there watching him in a white hooded coat that was presumably hiding her dancing clothing. He recognized her friends behind the dancer but his gaze didn't turn away from her. Slowly Luffy stood up, he flexed his hand and the hidden blade came out, sharp and true, facing straight towards the girls.

"You should have minded your own business..." the cloaked scholar declared, a killing intent in his voice...

_**P**_

Nami and the girls couldn't believe what they were seeing. Right in front of them, was a man in a white cloak, a scholar by the looks of it, with a blade poking out of his wrists and the body of Daz Bones on the ground behind him.

"Who is this guy?" was the question that rained through all three of their heads. However, Nami's eyes widen further in realization. "Was this the same scholar that I saw before?"

Nami, Vivi and Nojiko all backed away from the man in front of them. Whoever he was, it would seem his next victims would be them if they stayed here. "We have to separate," Nojiko whispered to the two girls, "He can't catch all of us."

Luffy however with his keen senses, heard this and proceeded to quickly take out a knife and throws it near the girl's head in an attempt to silence her. However this caused the complete opposite affect and caused them to panic and flee from both directions. "Crap!" Luffy cursed silently.

With no time to lose, Luffy proceeded to dash towards the one girl on the right, grabbing her arm and tripping her up with a sweep kick before throwing her on the ground. "YOU TWO STOP, OR SHE DIES!"

The two girls halt as they turn around at the thrill scream. Their eyes widened in horror as Vivi was being held with the blade to her throat.

_**S**_

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Nami demanded. Luffy didn't even bother to deny there demand, he merely looped his left arm around Vivi's waist, keeping her hidden blade close to her neck.

"STOP THIS!" Nami bellowed again, though Luffy remained un-phased.

"Listen" he commanded in a hushed tone "I don't want to hurt you. This isn't anything personal but if Crocodile knows that I did this, it could be trouble. All I want is to settle this easily"

"...What do you want from us?" Nojiko asked, acting much less angry than her sister but still seeming hostile.

"Silence" Luffy replied simply "I want you to make a deal with me that you're not going to tell anyone about this...and I'm taking her as a bargaining chip"

"DON'T HURT HER!" Nami yelled suddenly. Luffy twitched and the cold steel brushed gently against Vivi's neck. She jumped at the chill but the touch had not been enough to draw blood. Nami calmed herself, noticing the situation

"...Don't hurt Vivi" she said calmly, stepping forwards and dropping to her knees "take...take me instead"

"Nami, what are you..." Nojiko began, but Nami gave her a stern look.

"Nojiko..." she whispered "I'm not losing anyone else..." Luffy heard this and his eyebrow rose.

"...I don't care who wants to come with me...but one of you is..." the assassin admitted calmly "we should be able to solve this easily...if you just play along and do as I say..."

_**P**_

Nami bit her lip at this. They could simply run away and leave Vivi here at the mercy of this man... But she wouldn't, she couldn't abandon her friend. So while ignoring her concern of surviving herself, Nami reluctantly nodded to the man. "We'll do as you say, just..."

Luffy eyes the orange headed girl as she slowly gets up from the ground, her white coat that covered her body and possibly hid her outfit she was wearing earlier being only mildly dirtied at kneeling on the ground. With a soft intake and outtake of breath, Luffy began his next move.

"Come closer." Luffy commands. The girl complies, staring at Luffy in the eye all the way. Not bothering to give them a second warning, Luffy pushes Vivi forward and grabs Nami, forcing her in the same situation that Vivi was in just a moment ago.

Nami grunted softly, but remained quiet none the less while Vivi quickly made her way to Nojiko, who was staring at her sister with concerned fearful eyes. "If you want to see your friend again, you will do as I say. I'm going somewhere and I need you to meet me there." Luffy explains, seriousness in his voice ever present. "If you alert the guards to my presence, and despite my earlier claim, I will kill her, am I understood?"

The girls reluctantly nod. Vivi hesitantly speaks up, noting that he had for whatever reason not mention an important detail. "Where exactly are we supposed to meet you?"

Luffy was silent for a moment before speaking up...

* * *

><p>Nami is silent as she allows the man to lead her to the designated location. She was nervous, scared. "What is going to happen to us?" Nami looks around, seeing as they pasted few people. She contemplated screaming, but figured it would be useless, for she would either be killed or dragged away.<p>

After some time of walking, the two finally stopped at a place that Nami was unfamiliar with.

_**S**_

"Where are we?" Nami asked as she gazed up at the building in front of her. Red banners decorated with black roses hung from in front of the building. The building looked clean and pristine but the smell coming from it was awful.

"Where are we?" Nami asked. Luffy did not reply. He dragged Nami behind the building, into an alley way and pointed towards a side door.

"In" he commanded softly.

"Where is..." Nami started once more, but then Luffy cast a glare in her direction.

"I SAID IN" he barked. Nami nodded as the hidden blade flashed out of Luffy's wrist and she walked through the door. They were in a cellar. It was damp, dark and cold. Steadily, Nami walked forwards, whilst her captor kept a firm grasp on her shoulder. Soon, Nami recognized a door silhouetted against the darkness.

"Go in" Luffy instructed. Nami obeyed him, opening the door and stepping inside.

It was surprising to Nami that the room they were now in looked quite nice. The carpets and the wallpaper were a strange red or purple colour. There was also a bed in the room, large enough for two people and quite comfortable in appearance.

"Wait here..." Luffy instructed "I'll come get you soon...and don't you dare try and break out or I will snap your neck without hesitation"

_**P**_

Nami nods, knowing full well what she had just gotten into. She watched as the door was closed before her and heard it click in place. Just standing there for a while, Nami felt grimly curious as she approached the door and tested it. "Locked..." She mutters unsurprised. Sighing, Nami heads over to the bed to sit, thinking over the events that had happened just now.

Luffy walks through the dark room and eventually finds some stairs to climb up. Luffy was not looking forward to this. He knew he was either going to get teased or scolded for this, but he had no choice. He needed help to clean this mess. Ignoring everything else, Luffy searched the building and found his companions in the place he most figured they would be.

Silently he walks up to Zoro and Ace. The later having noticed him smiles and raises a drink. "Luffy, mission complete I presume."

Luffy gives a hesitant nod at this question. "Yeah, Daz Bones is dead." Luffy brings out the blood stained feather, proving his accomplishment of his feat.

Ace smirks, "Great work, we sorted out things around here as well. Come, have a drink." Ace then notices Luffy was oddly unenthusiastic for some reason. "No problems I presume."

Luffy sighs. "It's best I show you." Luffy says, indicating them to follow him.

Zoro groans. "Can't you just tell us, I'm having a drink here!" Zoro mutters annoyed as he guzzles more of what Luffy presumed to be some strong alcohol. Ace however raised his eyebrow, before furrowing them and getting up.

_**S**_

"You need to come and see" Luffy persisted "it's...a sensitive subject..."

"Have you broken the creed or something?" Ace asked, giving his brother a warning glare.

"Not yet..." Luffy simply replied "but I'm trying to preserve the creed but it's getting kind of hard..."

"What do you mean?"

"It's best to show you" Luffy stated once again. Ace sighed at this.

"Fine then Luffy. What's gotten you so on edge today?"

"A woman..." was Luffy's simple reply. Despite his seriousness, Zoro and Ace started laughing.

"AW~ LITTLE LUFFY AFRAID OF GIRLS ARE WE?" Zoro cried with joy.

"NO, THAT'S NOT IT!" the dark haired man protested.

"Always were shy, weren't you Luffy?" Ace added with a chuckle.

"She saw me kill Daz..." Immediately, Ace and Zoro stopped laughing.

"Then...we have a problem..."

_**P**_

Luffy sighs as he urges them to follow him, explaining on the way. "In short, do to some unexpected things that happened, I ended up throwing Daz out a building. When I got down, three girls had spotted me."

Luffy was suddenly halted as Zoro placed a hand on his shoulder. "Three?" he questioned.

Luffy realizing the contradiction began to explain in more detail. "I managed to grab one of them, and persuaded the other two to meet me hear." Luffy knowing Ace and Zoro's worry begins to explain further. "They've sworn to come alone, with their friend's life at stake, for as far as they know, I will kill her for not keeping their word."

Ace sighs at this while Zoro gives an annoyed mumble. "Sometimes I wonder why we can't just kill the witnesses." Zoro quietly says to himself.

Ace however glances towards him. "You know full well why, the Creed forbids us from slaying the innocent." Ace says annoyed.

Zoro sighs, "Yeah, your right, and I know why too, but it makes these types of situations so complicated!" Zoro growls. "When are these other witnesses coming?" Zoro asks Luffy sternly.

"Soon, provided they followed my instructions correctly."

Ace turns to leave. "Then let's hurry and reunite them with your guest."

_**S**_

Luffy nodded and Ace stood up, the senior assassin quickly taking over the situation.

"...Ace...I'm..." Luffy began, only for his brother to interrupt him.

"I know Luffy...but you've done well. You followed the creed and also secured the safety of our secret order...as for what'll happen now...we'll have to get Dragon here to sort this out. He shouldn't be far away...but we will have to hold the other girl's here until the time is right..." Luffy watched Ace for a moment before he smiled.

* * *

><p><em><strong>P<strong>_

Soon after, two hooded figures came walking towards the same building Luffy lead Nami to. The two inspect the mysterious new place, looking around for any sign of both trouble, but also for their friend and her captor.

One of them, who wore a blue coat that covered most of her body, hesitantly takes down her hood, looking up at the higher parts of the building. "Are we in the right place?" Vivi asks her companion, who also took down her hood. She wore a similar red coat with a brownish scarf wrapped around the hood.

"I- think so..." Nojiko answers hesitantly as she rethinks over the instructions they were given. "He never did say how we were supposed to find him..."

"Maybe we should just go inside and ask for a white hooded man... Or even if anyone's seen one dragging a white hooded girl?" Vivi suggests as Nojiko continues to grip her chin in thought.

Nojiko eventually nods. "Yeah, better yet, let's just have a look around. We might even be able to find NaMPPHHH?"

The two girls were naturally startled beyond belief, and did not hesitate to voice their surprise with loud gasps as the two were suddenly grabbed from behind by two different people and both with an armoured hand tightly clamped over their mouths, muffling any scream they could possibly muster. While they had been talking, two men had snuck up behind them, silently pacing themselves towards them before lashing out and restraining the two with their arms, one wrapped around their stomach and arms while the other was, as mentioned before, covering their mouths.

Their eyes avert to another figure that walks out of the shadows, approaching them in a calm intimidating pace. It was a man wearing a similar cloak to the other man they met. But this one seemed slightly different. "Our guests I presume?" He asks darkly and direct, no doubt expecting an answer the girls couldn't properly give.

"Yes, these are the ones." Vivi eyes widen as she recognizes the voice. The one who grabbed her was the same man who took Nami.

"Then let's go."

_**S**_

Slowly, the mysterious hooded men led Nojiko and Vivi along towards the cellar. Of course, Nojiko and Vivi were utterly terrified at the moment, though that didn't seem to have fazed their captors. Nojiko briefly wondered whether these men could even possibly feel fear. After all, they had seen one of them leap from a high height just to get some blood on a feather. It was crazy and it made Nojiko wonder just who these people were.

"NOJIKO! VIVI!" as the door swung open and Nami spotted her friend and her sister, she raced towards them, hugging them close when they were near enough.

"NAMI!" the two girls gasped with relief that their friend was safe and held her in return. When the three of them had been holding each other close, Luffy had watched with a feeling of unease. This situation was going to be a difficult one.

"Zoro...go wait for Dragon" Ace instructed in a whisper "I and Luffy will take care of our guests..."

"Of course..." Zoro replied, before he left the cellar, heading for the ground floor.

_**P**_

After Zoro left and locked the door, Ace turned towards the girls with a stern look from beneath his hood, causing the girls to flinch slightly at his dark gaze. "What did you see?" Ace asks in a direct, no nonsense matter.

They were stunned for a moment until Nojiko shook her head. "Nothing."

Ace briefly turns to Luffy. "These three saw me kill Daz Bones, which is undeniable."

Ace nods at this, knowing his brother wouldn't make a mistake like that and believing his word over these women anyway. "Of course, and who are these three I wonder?" Ace says, the seriousness never leaving his voice.

The girls were silent for a moment, but this time Vivi spoke up. "I assure you we mean you no trouble..." Vivi says sincerely, "...We are just humble dancers, who happened to just run by your companion."

Ace arched his brow at this, though it remained hidden under his hood. He turns to Luffy again, who was more hesitant this time, remembering the time he stood there watching them while he waited for his target. "... I believe I did see them perform while I was looking for Daz Bones."

Nami's eyes widened at this. "He was watching us?" She thought to herself, as she traced her memories to the 'scholar' who she felt eyeing her... Nami begins to smirk as an idea crosses her mind. "Not convinced?" This briefly grabs the attention of the two. Nami smiles at them before slowly taking the white scarf she was wearing off and unbuttoning her coat.

"Nami?" Vivi asks concerned, her eyes wider and confused over her actions.

Soon enough Nami had let the coat slip off of her shoulders and arms, revealing the exact alluring and colourful dancer outfit that Luffy had seen her danced in. The only thing missing from her was the tiara and veil that she wore earlier. She was also wearing high heeled sandals that were strapped from her big toe to her ankles.

Luffy quietly gulps at the memories he felt, but then furrows his brows. "What was she up to?"

Nami kept her smile as she scanned for a reaction from the two men in front of her. She then turns to Nojiko and winks. Nojiko smiles back. "I guess we should introduce ourselves, you to Vivi." Nojiko says to her, giving her a wink from an angle the men wouldn't see. Vivi was hesitant, but she also followed Nojiko as they both stripped their own coats, revealing there dancer outfits.

Once stripped of their coats, they gave the men a moment to gaze at the three beautiful dancers. Nami's smile never wavering, she took a brief step and put a hand on her hip. "You've probably never heard of us, but we're pretty famous as of late." Nami proceeded to do a single twirl, the other two following and stopping in an alluring pose, "We're known as the Thalatha Gamila Jinn! (The Three Beautiful Genies)"

_**S**_

As the three posed, Ace's jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out. Quickly, he recovered his composure and smiled.

"Oh really? Care to give us three wishes then my beauties?" Ace asked with an alluring smile. Luffy sighed as Ace's flirtatious nature surfaced and looked away.

"You horny pig..." Luffy cursed under his breath. Slowly, Nojiko strolled forwards and she put her finger under Ace's chin, stroking it as if he were a mere animal.

"And what do they call you handsome?" she said with a wink.

"Me?" Ace questioned with a laugh "the girl's call me 'Mahbah Ilah' (love god)"

"Oh brother..." Luffy muttered. As usual, Luffy remained adamant and resistant to the women's charms as they approached. He kept his palm ready to flick out his 'hidden blade'...somehow that seemed a lot ruder than he had meant it to seem.

"Get back on the bed..." Luffy instructed calmly. Nami gave a seductive smile and stepped closer towards him, her plan already in motion.

"Oh really? Quite forward aren't we?" the orange haired woman commented with a wink.

"I wasn't giving you a choice in the matter. Sit back down...or I will make you"

"This conversation is getting kinda dirty..." Ace whispered to Nojiko, who nodded in agreement.

_**P**_

Luffy stares at the long orange headed beauty. A Gamila Jinn indeed. Luffy felt as if she was trying to encourage him to wish for petty desires only to use it against him when there was no taking back what you wished for. She stepped closer, slowly placing a finger on his chest before running circles around it. "I'm intrigue to see you try." Nami whispers seductively as she pushes her hand forward, feeling his chest with her palm. "After all, I am curious to see what you have hidden under this robe of yours." Nami says, smiling closing in and staring at his now visible furrow eyes. Nami ignored the intimidating look and proceeded to snake her other hand downward, slipping through to... be interrupted as Luffy harshly grabs her wrist.

Nami winces at this, but keeps herself as composed as she could. "Very well, on the bed." Luffy demands as he pushes her forward.

Nami rubs her wrist before sighing a little. "Very well, I am your prisoner after all." Nami says as she slowly makes her way to the bed, making special note to shake her hips with every step of the way before lightly sitting down and spreading the sheets the little, invitingly.

Luffy walks up towards the bed after her, but stops as he notices Vivi approach him. "Um, if you don't mind, may I join you?" Vivi says, a light flush on her cheeks showing a more modest image of innocence.

Luffy paused. "Sit at the other end and wait your turn." Luffy orders, pointing to the edge of the bed. Vivi nods and makes her way, sitting down obediently. Luffy looks at Nami as she continued to smile up at him, as if anticipating his next move.

"I'm all yours." Nami says in encouragement. Her eyes widens slightly as she notices Luffy's own impish smile. Luffy was instantly on top of her, his robe already loosely open and...

In an instant Nami found herself on her stomach, her arms on her back being held together. It took a moment to realize that he was wrapping some fabric around her arms... "ROPE? Nami's eyes widen as she comprehends what the man was REALLY going to do to her.

Before anybody could realize it, Nami's wrists were tied behind her back with rope. Nami gasps as she feels the knots being tightens and instantly begins to struggle. "What are you doing?!" Nami yells in terror. Luffy ignores her cry as he begins to tie her ankles together with another length of rope.

Vivi and Nojiko realize what was happening. Nojiko taking advantage of her position kicks Ace straight below the belt, running towards Luffy and leaving the man to wither in pain. "...Balls!" Ace mutters in anguish as he flops on the ground.

Vivi grabs something nearby and attempts to jump the Assassin. But Luffy saw this coming and turns around to grab her wrist and throw her at the side of the bed, before getting off it to intercept Nojiko, disarming the dancer and throws her on the bed as well.

Luffy then took out another length of rope before tying Nojiko's wrists together.

_**S**_

As Nojiko found her wrists bound, Vivi took her chance and pushed herself off the bed, in an attempt to escape. Luffy responded by simply turning around and, in a swift motion, he grabbed Vivi's shoulders and spun her around so she had her back to him. Then, he drew a piece of rope from the bed and, quickly pulling Vivi's arms round her back. Luffy tied her hands tightly together and then, roughly, flung her on the bed as well. Of course, Nojiko noticed this and kicked out...only for Luffy to loop a rope around her legs at the ankles, before he tightened it in a swift motion. Finally, Luffy then secured Vivi's legs, before standing back to look at his good work.

"Not bad..." he muttered.

"YOU BASTARD!" Nami cursed.

"Of course, it's missing something!" Luffy suddenly commented, placing a random piece of cloth into Nami's mouth before he tied a gag over it.

"Perfect..." Luffy muttered with a smile.

_**P**_

"MMMPPPHH!" muffled Nami, as Luffy adjusts the cloth so it was covering her nose and chin.

"Did you HONESTLY think we fall for such a weird trick?" Luffy asks mockingly as he eyed the struggling girls. He then heard a loud moan behind him, causing Luffy to sigh in exasperation.

He rechecked and tightened any possible loose ends, before allowing the girls to struggle so he could walk up to the fallen Ace. Crouching down and checking to see his condition he whispers, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Ace muttered, "Nothing broken... Except my pride!"

"Good, you deserve it." Luffy says unsympathetically as Ace whimpers in pain. Luffy then turns to look at the three girls on the bed. Luffy had done it in a hurry, but after readjusting them the girls were likely going to be a while trying to get loose. Luffy however had other plans.

The girls notice Luffy walk up to them, halting in their actions as they feared what the man would do next. They were silent as he approached them; even as he leaned down to adjust a few things they could not see. "What are you...?"

Nojiko attempted to ask but was interrupted, "...Going to do to you. Well after this stunt, I'm feeling the need to restrain you." Luffy informs them as he gets sorts out more bundles of rope and different fabrics. As if to make his point, Luffy showed one of the ropes to their faces and tightens the length. "I advise you to hold still."

Soon enough, along with the wrist and ankle bindings he had restrained them with earlier, he had also tied rope around the dancer's torso and arms, pinning their upper arms to their sides. He had also tied their knees together to make their legs even more immobile. Lastly he had stuffed all their mouths with a wad of cloth, covering them with a triangular folded piece of cloth and tied it with a tightly over their nose and behind each of their long flowing hair.

"MMNFF!" Nojiko muffled as Luffy finishes the tight knot around her head.

_**S**_

"I think I've done a good job there" Luffy commented, dusting off his hands with a smirk.

"Yeah" Ace admitted with a scowl "you seem to be enjoying the fact that you've possibly endangered our creed"

"Well..." Luffy started calmly "believe it or not, I've actually realized that this situation is troublesome from any perspective. So, there's no point complaining. I might as well just take the world as it comes calmly in my stride" Understanding Luffy's predicament, Ace nodded with a sigh.

"Well then, what are we going to do with them when Dragon gets here?"

"I think he'd like them restrained" Luffy reasoned calmly, his eyes locking with Nami's own glare.

Suddenly, at that moment, there came a knock at the door.

* * *

><p><em><strong>P<strong>_

A few minutes before hand, Zoro was calmly waiting outside, keeping his only eye out for the person Ace told him to wait for, Dragon. Zoro's eye never wavered, persistently to scan the area, pushing all thoughts of the things he wanted at the moment, sleep, alcohol... Zoro sighs. "I need a nap." Zoro says with a yawn, but suddenly he caught something.

A rather large man, covered from head to toe in some dark cloak. Zoro's eye furrowed as he waited for the man to approach. Once he got close enough, Zoro could easily make out the dark green decorated cloth covering the man, and looking up at his hooded face, he could see some familiar marks, tattoos on the left side of his face. "A great pleasure to see you again." Zoro greets him with a nod.

"Yes, a job well done I presume." The man was not asking. Rather he was expecting the work of his Assassin's to be successful in their missions. For these types of missions couldn't afford mistakes.

Of course, that wasn't always the answer he heard. "Yes... but a problem has arisen." Zoro informs the man simply.

While it was hard to see, Zoro figured that he didn't imagine the movement he saw under the man's hood, the furrowing of brows. "Problem?"

Zoro nods again. "I think its best you see for yourself." Zoro informs him as he walks away, expecting the man to follow.

Even Zoro had to admit, having this man follow him was eerie. He wondered how he would react to Luffy's vital mistake, but he didn't have long to consider, for soon enough they were at the cellar door. Without a word, Zoro unlocks the door, knocks and treads in, holding the door for the man as he walks in to.

Whatever had been going on had been immediately halted as everyone in the room turns to his general direction. Or rather, stare at the man Zoro had just led here. The man silently observes the room. Two of the Assassins were standing, near a bed filled with three women, who he presumed were some dancer girls, who were strictly bounded, no doubt only allowing them to wiggle and roll around in place, completely helpless with only inaudible muffled pleas to allow voicing any of their feelings. He also noted that a few ornaments were out of place and three different coats on the floor as well as two scarves.

The room was quiet as they all waited for this man, Dragon, to speak up. At last, he directs his eyes towards the two men. "I believe someone has some explaining to do."

_**S**_

"Father..." Luffy began, only for Dragon to interrupt.

"Grand master Dragon..." he growled. Luffy blinked in surprise for a moment, before bowing low.

"Grand master Dragon, Daz Bones is dead, as you requested...unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately?" Dragon asked, turning to face the dancers lying bound and gagged on the bed.

"...These dancers witnessed the deed..." Luffy explained "the creed states to not harm the innocent, yet it also tells us to protect the order at all cost...so I brought them here to ask you on what course of action we should take master Dragon" Strangely enough, Dragon was completely silent at this. He was considering the best course of action to take himself.

* * *

><p><strong>EXITING MEMORY SESSION...<strong>

**S: Well, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of our One Piece/ Assassin's Creed collaboration and I hope you will continue to enjoy the coming chapters.**

**P: That's right. We have at least another 10000 words worth of this stuff coming up. Be prepared of our bastardizing of three different Histories!**

**S: Hooray for crazy alternate universe fanfiction!  
>Anyway, please review. Positive criticism is welcome<strong>

**P: As Shadowon said, Reviews, Advise and Criticism would be appreciated.**

**I'm Bear D Polar and I hope you have enjoyed this, Later.  
>*Squeezes through Polar* <strong>**And don't forget me Shadowonthewall6. See ya!**

**Thanks for reading.**


	2. The Path to the Creed

**P: And after awkward back braking editing, and with 8 reviews so far, we've finally gotten the second Chapter of this Collaboration posted... Let's be honest, how many people actually expected it to be updated at all with my track record?**

**S: To be fair, my record of updates isn't really much better than yours either Polar, so I think this update can count as an improvement to both of our updating schedules :D**

**P: The only reason this collaboration is on my page is BECAUSE of all the unfinished multiple chapter stories you have on your plate. That said though, I've been taking a personal hand in one of them.**

**S: True (being overambitious is one of my many flaws) but everyone waiting for the update of your LuNa romantic parody and Winds of Karma (make sure to read them if you haven't!) shall just have to wait a bit longer, won't they? After all, WE STILL NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO NAMI, NOJIKO AND VIVI!**

**P: You already know... I've got five Chapters worth of what we've already written. And now I'm going to need to re-edit them because you decided to get picky.**

**S: True...but our readers don't! Do they? And they're probably skimming through this now to quickly find out Dragon's decision anyway because of the tense , I've started editing the story as well if you forget, due to a recommendation from our loyal reviewers.**

**P: College English student here Ladies and Male shipping fans. If his grammar doesn't help this fic, then** **we're screwed. ****Speaking of which, I feel I need to remind you all encase my last message didn't make things clear enough. There are TWO people writing this fic. Shadowon and I, and not just me. And as such, I'm presuming their are TWO people editing this. Right Shadowon? Or is that last comment false reassurance?**

**S: Indeed we are...And of course not! I've worked hard on correcting spelling errors, tenses and other such things to the best of my ability. So, any mistakes in grammar, punctuation, etc. this time should be minimal and I'll take full responsibility for any grammatical errors that my keen eyes have failed to spot and rectify...HOWEVER, if the spelling and grammar are brilliant THEN IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF ME AND YOU SHOULD PRAISE MY GREAT WORK! *evil laughter***

***nervous cough*...Anyway, we're getting off track. POLAR! ON WITH THE SHOW BUDDY!**

**P: You heard the shadow-man. Let's get this started.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own One Piece or Assassin's Creed. They belong to Eiichiro Oda and Ubisoft**

**ANIMUS STARTING. PLEASE REMEMBER NOT TO LOOK AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN FOR TOO LONG. PARTICULARLY IF THE CONTENTS ARE INAPPROPRIATE FOR MINORS OR IT CONTAINS EXCESSIVE DETAIL OF CLOTHING**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: the path to the Creed<strong>

_**P**_

The Grand Master stood there silently. The room maintained an eerie quietness as everyone in the room, captive and Assassin, waited for the man before them to think this dilemma over and make what he perceived to be (and what the Assassins should believe) to be the best course of action. Finally, the man let out a small intake and exhale of breath, one that would be completely unnoticeable to those without the keen senses of the Assassin. To the Dancers, he was still deciding their fate.

To the Assassin's, their fate was sealed.

"This dilemma gives us little choice." he finally said, his voice absolute as it prepared the people around him for his next and final decision. "These women know too much, you Luffy, shall take responsibility for them for now, as we bring them with us back home."

The girl's eyes widened. They instantly started struggling and screaming in protest. Luffy however, reluctantly nodded. "Understood... though I only have one horse."

"Pack them up, we'll deal with arrangements from their." Dragon said, leaving the room to allow them to prepare.

* * *

><p>With no time to waste, Luffy and Ace proceeded to get ready to bring the Dancers out of the city, collecting sacks big enough to fit adult size bodies.<p>

"Will they able to breath in those?" Luffy asked, slightly concerned with their health. Ace nodded.

"There are small enough holes that should allow them to breath, but pay attention in case they start to suffocate." Ace warned. He then proceeded to collect another piece of fabric, Nojiko's scarf, and put his sights on Nojiko. "Sorry beautiful, but those eyes have to remain as in the dark as possible." Ace said and despite her protests, ties it around her eyes with a tight knot at the back of her head.

"MMMMNNNTH!" Nami protested uselessly as she herself was to be blind folded her own scarf along with her sister as Luffy approaches her.

"What do we do with the coats?" Zoro asked, eyeing the garments that the Dancers took off in an attempt to seduce the two men while he was gone. Naturally, it wouldn't have worked on Zoro (for more then one reason) but he had laughed his head off when Luffy told him what happened to Ace.

"They're already tied up, so I figure they will make good blankets for them. The Desert gets cold at night, and the sacks might not be enough." Luffy explained as he picked up the white hooded garment Nami was wearing earlier and proceeded to forcibly put it on to her. Due to her hands being tied, of course the sleeves of the outfit could only hang about loosely as Luffy adjusted it to hang from her shoulders, re-fastening it so Nami's body was once again hidden beneath the cloth, but this time tied up under it.

"MMNNMM" Nami protested further as the hood of her own coat has placed over her head.

"Makes sense." Ace agreed as he begins doing the same as he finished blindfolding Vivi.

**_S_**

"Which way are we going to go?" Zoro asked, looking towards the map on the table (which Ace had forbidden him to carry).

"The eastern road" Ace replied, tracing a small line with his finger "it runs between the Death Mountains so it's out of the way of travellers and it's far enough away from the other cities that we won't get noticed"

"Do you think that the valleys are a safe enough place for them?" Luffy asked, his eyes locking with Nami's before he tied a blindfold around her eyes.

"Bandits here know us too well" Ace explained "plus, Dadan has an alliance with Dragon. She knows not to mess with us and personally, I don't think she'd try it"

Luffy nodded in understanding and grabbed one of the three sacks that were lying on the floor. Silently, he pulled it off the floor and gently fed Nami's bound legs into the bag. He heard the girl whimper as he did so and for a mere moment, Luffy felt an odd burning sensation. What they were doing wasn't exactly the kindest act in the world…but then again, it was better than death…

Ignoring the feeling, he continued to place the orange haired woman's body into the sack, though she struggled at every attempt he made.

"If she's like this the whole journey something will definitely go wrong" the assassin thought to himself "I'm going to have to calm her down before we start moving"

Finally, when her entire body was inside, Luffy grabbed a piece of rope from the side and prepared to bind the top of the sack shut. Before he did so, however, he did something that, even to him, was odd. Slowly, he leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on top of the dancer's forehead. Immediately, the dancer's scared expression softened under the gag and the blindfold slightly at the reassuring gesture.

"Don't worry" Luffy whispered lightly, as if talking to a child "I'm not going to hurt you. I swear on the creed" and with that, he closed the top of the sack and tied it tightly shut. He paused for a moment, making sure that the dancer's movements were much more still that before. Luckily, his small act of reassurance had managed to calm down the girl so that she was no longer violently struggling against her bonds. Pleased with the result, Luffy smiled, before turning back to Zoro and Ace.

**_P_**

Nami was surprised at the warm gesture she felt before she felt the cloth encasing her slightly shift and tighten, making her already blocked vision all the darker. There was no escape. Nami was trapped and at the mercy of this man and his companions, trapped with her friends. All she could do now was hold back tears of regret as she just sat defeated, waiting to be sent away to whatever they called 'home'.

After a minute or so, Nami felt her body being lifted off the ground and shifted so that she was pressing against something. After a bit more suspended shifts, she then realized that she was being carried. She could see nothing, she could barely hear anything, and whilst she could breathe, her freedom of speech had been taken. All she could do was let herself be carried, hoping beyond hope that someone, anyone, would see this action being suspicious and rescue them, rescue them from their abduction.

This was no fairy tale though. This was reality. Nami knew this, despite how much she wanted to believe it was just a horrible bad dream, which she could simply wake up from by being called and shaken out of sleep or pinching herself. Even with all this going through Nami's head however, one thing still troubled her, but not in the same way everything else right now did. Rather, it was do to bile curiosity, and even a tiny illuminating light of hope. "Why, did he say that?" was Nami thought as she repeated her kidnapper's words in her mind.

"If there's a silver lining in this dark cloud... Please let have been a sign." She silently begged.

* * *

><p>The men stayed in a small group, taking the least suspicious and visual roots around the city as possible. They made a stop to let Luffy confirm his mission's success to Ussop, though he didn't bother informing him of the bad news. They eventually met up with Dragon, who was waiting for them, so they could all make their journey back, with their new quests in the hands of the Assassin's.<p>

**_S_**

"Shall we go?" Dragon said as Luffy loaded the sack containing Nami onto his horse.

"Yes" he replied solemnly, mounting the beast in a mighty jump and then soothing the horse by massaging its mane. Zoro and Ace placed Nojiko and Vivi on their horses and also mounted them. Besides Dragon, there were two other assassins hooded and cloaked, though neither one acknowledged Luffy nor his companions. Luffy didn't truly care about this to be honest and so he headed off, following Dragon as the cavalcade slowly made their way out of the city.

The east road between the Dawn temple and Rain-base was a long journey. It was definitely not as direct as Dragon would have liked but it was safe. Plus, if they had simply rode along the northern road (the quickest way to the temple) they would have been forced to travel through Yuba, a bustling settlement that the group of assassins would have preferred to keep away from. The road was rough and dusty but then again, so were all of the roads. Nami felt every single bump as she was bounced around in her sack. A reassuring hand was holding her arm through the sack and she could tell it was one of the assassins, trying to keep her steady on the horse. Which one it was, however, Nami had no clue.

Luffy followed along a little far behind his father and the other assassins. He hadn't failed to notice the glares the other nameless hooden men had given him before they had began riding along. As far as they were concerned, he was a traitor to the creed. The only reason he was still alive, in their opinion, was because of his 'daddy'. A part of Luffy wanted to show the two arrogant assassins just exactly how he felt about his father...but he suppressed the urge with a sigh. At that moment, Dragon suddenly stopped in the road and signalled to the cavalcade to do the same.

"What's wrong?" one of the assassins called to the grand master.

"We haven't had breakfast" was Dragon's simple reply, as he glanced around "If we are to remain at full strength, it would be best that we rested and ate for a while, don't you agree?"

_**P**_

Luffy barely suppressed a very unsilent yelp of joy at this statement, let alone a smile spreading across his lips. He bowed his head to hide it under his hood though so as not to express any hint of his opinion. The last thing he was inclined to do was speak out of turn, if just so he wouldn't bury himself into even deeper scorn from both his Father and the Assassins he had fantasies showing up somehow.

Ace on the other hand spoke up on his behalf, seeing as how both the Grand Master intended to do so regardless of their opinion and to simply look out for his Brother. "Sounds like a great plan. Anywhere you have in mind Grand Master?" Ace spoke up, cheerfully, but not to seem too out of place among the heavy atmosphere of the situation.

"As long as it's a shady area I can nap in." Zoro muttered, suppressing a yawn at that moment of mentioning sleep.

**_S_**

"Sleep will not be an option Roronoa" Dragon interjected, turning to face the green haired swordsman with a scowl "after all, just because we are having a break, this does not mean that we shall be allowed to drop our guard for an instant. The threats of the surrounding environment are plentiful and dangerous. It would be good for you to remember such..."

"Of course" Zoro mumbled, a little depressed at being banned from his usual morning nap. Ace patted the swordsman reassuringly on the back, before looking over towards Dragon.

"There's a small clearing I remember passing on the way here" Dragon explained, turning to gaze along the dusty and rocky plains "it looked like a suitable area to camp for a while. Anyone have any complaints?" When any argument against his plan failed to be voiced, Dragon nodded "good, then let's continue"

"Why couldn't we just eat now?" Luffy thought to himself. His stomach cried out in agreement, echoing over the landscape as the group set off moving again. Luffy could have sworn he heard a muffled curse from Nami's sack as they began moving once more.

"Stopping and then starting, make up your bloody mind!" Nami thought angrily, not enjoying being bounced around inside her fabric prison.

**_P_**

The group backtracked for a bit before Dragon led them to the clearing he had mentioned. They were riding for about a minute before their would be campsite was in view. It had what appeared to be three rock formations beside and slightly on top of each other, with a couple of tropical trees sprouting around them, suggesting a fair amount of moister under the seemingly lifeless sandy terrain. This however was swapped for a few grassy rains poking out of the sand as the horses trotted over them, going ender the rock formations towards the cool and large shaded area that Zoro had previously hoped for. This rocky roof blocked out the relentless sun above as they stopped and organised themselves.

The Assassin's got off their steeds, allowing them to sit the horses down on their hind legs as they eased themselves, gathering what strength they could before they continued the long journey ahead. Luffy was of course among the first to do this, practically jumping off to horridly grab one of the bags he had strapped to his horse. He fiddled with it fiercely before opening up the carrying device and grinning widely at the contents. It mattered little to the young Assassin what kind it was in this situation, (For the desert didn't allow anyone to be picky) it was food. And with that in mind Luffy was the first to munch on a piece of raw meat he had packed beforehand.

**_S_**

As Luffy began to chew the meat thoroughly, enjoying the taste of the succulent beef in his mouth, he failed to notice that all of the other assassins were staring at him. When he did finally realise, he paused eating the piece of meat and gave an awkward smile.

"...Is something wrong?"

"Your captives will require sustenance as well, won't they?" Dragon asked cynically, glaring at his son "perhaps you'd like to feed them before catering to your own whims..." For a while longer, Luffy sat perfectly still. He looked at his father, then over towards the sack that belonged to Nami. When the horse had sat down, her sack had unfortunately tumbled off as well, though Luffy had not noticed this. He could tell from the irritated groaning, however, that she hadn't fallen far and that she was still relatively alive. Finally, Luffy shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay then master..." he muttered, before busying himself with untying the top of the sack. Zoro and Ace busied themselves with the other bags as well, realising that Luffy could not feed the women single handily. Dragon sighed at the awkward situation, before sitting down on a nearby rock to relax and eat his own meal.

_**P**_

Luffy dusted off the sack before opening it, revealing the trapped Jin in all her exotic glory. Luffy eyed her up and down, finding himself oddly entranced at her for the moment. On the one hand, he was irritated he had to stop his meal to cater to another, but on the other hand, he felt a bit ashamed that he leave this Woman to starve... though he wondered just how much such a Woman would eat daily to maintain her skinny body.

At any rate, she seemed to be far more grouchy than scared this time around. She was noticeably sweating a bit at being cramped in a single space for so long under the hot sun while all the while trying to loosen her bonds to no avail. Along with her not so amused attitude though, she was noticeably confused now, and even stiffened as she wondered what was going to happen to her now.

During this time, Ace had taken out the other Woman's sack that he was holding, fiddling with it for a moment before opening it to reveal... the longer blue haired girl. Nearly as confused as the Woman before him, but no where near as anxious, Ace looked around to find that the one he was looking for was in the care of Zoro. He scratched his head for a moment before getting up and prancing to him. "SO, how are we going to do this?" Ace asked out load so Luffy could hear him as he crouched beside Zoro, much to his confusion.

Nojiko perks a bit as she hears a very familiar voice approaching her, causing her to growl hostility. Ace just grins at her, though she couldn't see it, and grabs her face, squeezing her cheeks rather hard.

Ace's question had brought Luffy out of his daze. After shaking his head, Luffy re-evaluated the situation and decided what to do. "Take off their gags then feed them from there." Luffy calls back to him without looking to see what he was doing.

"And if they scream?" Zoro asked, ignoring the angry grunts coming from the Dancer beside him as Ace tortured his helpless prey.

"... Then they don't eat."

**_S_**

The women appeared to hear this news and immediately, stopped their wriggling about. As much as they wanted to be saved, they also knew that not having any food wasn't going to help them...

Their chance for an escape would come eventually and when it did, they would be ready...

"Dibs!" Ace suddenly shouted, springing over towards one of his own bags and back too the shorter blue haired dancer, who gave a groan as she heard the man's voice approaching once again.

"I don't care who I get to be honest" Zoro said with a shrug, allowing Ace to take Nojiko, whilst he casually walked over to Vivi. Luffy focused on the girl in front of him. She was still wearing her dancing outfit, tied up securely under her hooded coat...and still looking pissed off as hell about the former...

Slowly, Luffy reached his hand forwards and grabbed the orange haired woman's gag. As he did so, he felt her jerk backwards in fright. She obviously wasn't comfortable with a stranger practically spoon feeding her, but Luffy was determined.

"Do not be afraid" he whispered gently "I promised didn't I? No harm will come to you if you just don't cause trouble..." Nami didn't seem to react to this and remained motionless and still. Seeing this as a sign of trust, Luffy gently reached for Nami's gag and pulled it down, revealing her soft pink lips. The girl said nothing as Luffy caught the wad of cloth he shoved in her mouth earlier she spat out. Luffy opened up a bag, seeing as she was quiet and grabbed a piece of bread. He ripped it in two and then held out one end close to Nami's mouth. She seemed to panic as the object approached but Luffy reassured her with a soft tone.

"It's bread" Strangely enough, Nami seemed almost too cooperative as she gently nibbled on the piece of bread Luffy was holding in his hand. Luffy smiled as she ate, shoving the other piece of bread into his mouth (whole) with his other hand. This was the first time Luffy had ever really had to monitor someone's eating pattern and from this, he realised one big problem...

PEOPLE WERE REALLY SLOW AT EATING!

He'd finished his half of the bread in three or five seconds, but Nami still had less that half of hers left after thirty seconds. It was SO infuriating for the assassin, having to watch someone else eat his food...but he soon became calm and instead chose to focus on the dancer's hair. It was something that had caught his eye when they had first met (though back then, he never thought he'd have kidnapped this woman, or he'd be so close he could just reach out and touch her radiant locks.

"...Orange hair..." he found himself mumbling a loud "I've only seen Dadan with that hair colour before...I wonder if it tastes like oranges..."

"Trust me, it doesn't" a voice assured him and he looked back at Nami's face, realising she had finished eating the part of the bread he'd offered her.

_**P**_

Luffy blinked a few times as he registered what she just said. Then his eyes drooped, annoyed that he spoke that piece of his thoughts out load, and a bit more annoyed how she answered. She said nothing else however as she blindly faced his general direction. He inspected her face for a while longer before he took particular interest in her lips. As luscious as they were, they seemed a bit stiff. With this in mind, he figured she was most likely thirsty and dehydrated... which may explain why she took forever to eat that one loaf of bread.

He got a flask of water and then held the back of her head, causing her to flinch a bit at the unknown pressure there. "Get ready, I'm going to give you some water to drink." Rather than complaining though, or even being grateful for that matter, the Dancer scrunched up her nose in annoyance.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you let me at least SEE whatever your feeding me?" Nami voiced her complaint, not enjoying this little charade.

"YOU ASSHOLE! "Nami flinches to the source of the furious scream's general direction, while Luffy turns around to see what was happening. From what he could gather, Ace had shoved a flask of water of his own into his Captive's mouth, getting her into a coughing fit after spitting out the invading liquid and her shrill , Zoro was in the process of holding other's nostrils closed and forcing the liquid down her thought. This resulted in her hurriedly drinking it and letting it clumsily spill a few drops down her face. Once he was done, he released her, causing her to let out a desperate gasp for air.

Turning back Luffy brought both their attentions back to each other as he spoke. "First off, your not allowed to see where we are or where we're heading. And second, you ought to be grateful I at least decided to worn you rather than did what they did to your friends." Luffy explained with an amused smile and shrug.

**_S_**

For a moment, Nami considered this information, before sighing loudly.

"...Fine..." she conceded "let's get this over with..."

"Okay" Luffy said with a nod "tell me when you've had enough..."

"How?" was Nami's reply but the assassin didn't seem to care for words anymore. He was more focused on action now...though this action was much softer than Nami expected as he slowly lowered his flask to her lips, allowing her to gently sip out the liquid at her own pace. Despite how impatient the assassin had first seemed, he was now being very patient indeed, waiting contently for her to take a good long drink...though this might have been because he was eating a chicken leg in his other hand, but she was still happy that he was being a lot gentler than his colleagues. Upon second glance, Zoro was now complaining to Vivi that she was being too fussy about drinking and told her to man up as she coughed and spluttered, gasping for air now that she was finished drinking. Ace, on the other hand, was drinking his own water in the most loudest manner possible, taunting Nojiko as if he were a mere child. It was obvious that he hadn't forgotten the kick to the balls he had received earlier.

Finaly, after her thirst had been satisfied, Luffy pulled the water flask away and drank a little himself before turning to his captive.

"Was that okay?" he asked. The orange haired dancer nodded in reply, tilting her head away from the assassin as she felt the pressure of the man's eyes upon her.

"Yeah...thanks...I suppose..." she muttered. Luffy smiled in reply, taking the awkward gratitude as a sign that he was making at least a little bit of progress in gaining this woman's trust.

"Aren't you going to thank me my angel?" a voice called from behind the two, accompanied by Nojiko's calm but concise reply.

"Go fuck yourself"

**_P_**

Luffy's eyes drooped to an extremely unimpressed expression. "When, owe WHEN, did my grumpy hot-headed Older Brother become such a flirtatious dog in heat!" Luffy thought to himself as he listened to Ace further taunting the girl.

"Would you leave her alone!" Luffy was snapped out of his thought's suddenly at the girl's in front of him outburst. She was glancing in Ace's and her friends general direction, having blindly directed her voice to Ace, who just looked back with a raised eyebrow.

"Aren't you suppose to be feeding her Luffy?" Ace says to his Brother, completely ignoring the Jin who had called him out on his treatment of his Captive.

Luffy was also not amused. "I should be saying the same for you." Luffy calls back to him, now fully turned to face him. "Stop messing with her and get her fed. You can play with her later."

"WHAT?" Was Nojiko's furious and horrid cry.

"YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Nami defiantly shouted as she leans forward, but unable to do anything with he constrains restricting almost all forms of versatile movement.

"Wait what?" Luffy asks in deep confusion. He then recalled the phrase said in a separate time and content and face palmed. "NOT WHAT I..."

"SILENCE!"

_**S**_

Luffy already knew who the loud booming voice belonged to before he even turned around to see Dragon leering at the group with his usual judgemental eyes. They had disturbed his meditation and he was clearly not amused.

"I believed I was travelling with full grown adults, not children" he growled, walking over to Luffy

"Grand Master, I apologise. It was a mistake on my part" Luffy apologised, bowing low before his superior before gesturing to Nami and Nojiko, who were looking over towards the direction Luffy's voice had come from, slightly shocked with their mouths hanging slightly open. They had not expected their kidnapper to take the blame for starting the disagreement so easily "the dancers merely misunderstood my meaning of my words..." Luffy continued "I promise this disturbance will not happen..."

"I don't care whatever you fools are yelling about" Dragon interrupted with a snarl "I merely wish that you would silence yourselves" After this public address to the assassins, Dragon turned away from the group and retreated back to his where he had been sitting.

A rather tense and awkward silence followed as both the captives and the captors took a full look on the situation...

Only Nojiko, however, voiced the fact that was on the girl's mind.

"Wow, what a dick..." she announced quietly.

It was impossible to tell who acted quicker at that moment, but it was aware to two of the assassins (and it was at least partly aware to Nami, who heard the abrupt movement) that Nojiko's words had struck a cord. In only a simple second of time, one of the nameless assassins who had joined their master and the trio of assassins on their escort stood up from his seat and moved to walk towards Nojiko. In the same instant, Luffy also moved, now standing in front of the assassin (as he had been sitting relatively nearby) and was glaring the hooden figure down with all the rage he could muster.

"Sit back down" was all Luffy said, in a sharp and commanding tone. The assassin who had stood up appeared to take offence to this, growling at Luffy and barring his teeth, revealing a single gold tooth.

"She has attacked our master's honour" the assassin whispered, remembering how much Dragon enjoyed meditating in silence and the strict words he had spoke to his son only a few mere moments ago.

**_P_**

Before Luffy could reply to this, a hand clamped down on the golden toothed Assassin, belonging to none other than Zoro. "Do what he says, less we disturb the Grand Master further." Zoro says, though sending the warning to both of them to not cause a commotion. The Assassin slightly flinched at Zoro's words, finding himself unable to speak up, let alone disagree with the mans words as he shook a little at his powerful grip on his shoulder. Zoro then looked up to Ace. "One more word out of her, and you shut her up."

Ace snorted quietly at this, nodding with a grin before turning to her. "Too bad, guess we'll have to talk later huh sweetheart?" Ace says as forces her face closer to him, causing her to let out a irritated growl.

Nami was about to speak up before an apple was shoved in her opening mouth, making her grunt instead. "Lets not make things harder than they have to be. Your in the same situation as her." Luffy says as he force feeds his Captive, causing her to take a juicy bite on the fruit.

Nami reluctantly remained silent as she understood what he ment. Though she did opt to give a long hard glare at him, even if he couldn't see it as well under the blindfold covering her large brown eyes.

Things quietened down from there, as the Assassin went back to sit and Zoro went back to the Woman he should have been feeding, who was being very obediently quiet during the whole ordeal.

* * *

><p>Eventually however they were once again re-gagged in the same stuffing under the triangular shaped folded cloth that covered up from their nose down too their chin, before re-hooded and concealed in their respectful sacks.<p>

From there they settled off into the distance, following behind Dragon as they made their way through the Eastern Road through the vast wonderment wasteland known as the Desert. Long and hard they travelled with little additional rest stops and chances to eat as they valiantly galloped their horses further on. Much time had passed, illustrated by the rising and falling of the relentless sun above, and their nourishment had been soundly drained. Such a trivial set back however would not stop the powerful and feared group, however small, as the Assassins.

**_S_**

"We're lost" Zoro suddenly commented, noticing that the group had passed the same cliff-face two times in a row.

"THAT'S RICH COMING FROM YOU!" Ace shouted. Luffy, however, ignored the reply and his eyes scanned the clearing.

"We're taking the wrong way..." he muttered. Dragon, however, ignored him "we're taking the wrong way!" Luffy repeated, louder than before. This time, Dragon turned around and glared at him.

"We're taking the high mountain road" Dragon instructed "that way, we'll be shielded from the weather..."

"That way is also a well known path for Templars" Luffy replied "and the rocks on either side of the road are a good place for an ambush. We should take the canyon road from here. We'll be more exposed to the elements and more visible but there's less chance of meeting with danger. There's also a ruin site there where we can rest if we choose to..."

"WE ARE TAKING THE HIGH MOUNTAIN ROAD!" Dragon bellowed, turning to glare at Luffy. For a moment, Luffy didn't reply. Then, he sighed.

"Yes...master..."

**_P_**

Nami shifted a bit as she felt the horse she was on stopping. "Are we there yet?" She thought as she tries to move. Naturally she couldn't do much, as she was still tightly bounded up in the sack she was in, the ropes doing its work to naturally suppress any and all movements. She let out a deep muffled sigh through the cloth of her gag, closing her eyes under her blindfold as she keeps her head low.

She vaguely realised that the group were talking to each other, though she had missed most of the conversation, she stiffened when she heard a load voice roar, frightening her as she somehow felt it directed at her. "Was he yelling at one of them?" Nami sighed, louder and even more tired and depressed as she truly realised that all her questions would continue to become unanswered. "Mn, N mmnmf nmm mmn nnmmth." Nami muffled through her gag, furrowing at the unintelligent mumbling it sounded like, even to her!

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, as the horses continued to move again. "It was nice while it lasted." Nami bitterly thought to herself as she once again tried to remain as comfortable as possible whilst they travelled too... where ever the hell they were going.

Riding fast behind his Father, and keeping an eye out for any possible threat to all of them, Luffy continued to send his horse galloping, taking considerate care not to be too rough as he directed his steed and took care of the contents inside the sack he was carrying. She was behaving herself. He went to touch her every once in a while, checking to see if she was still stable in there. She would shift and he could sometimes even hear load mumbles of complaint, but throughout the whole trip, she gave them very little trouble, almost to the point of being merely dead weight to them. Something Luffy would like to keep that way... though not in a literal sense.

Luffy gave the body before him another smoothing stroke, feeling the contents underneath and noticing how she slightly squirmed as she adjusted herself, and probably weakly trying to cope with his wandering hand. Luffy hoped that Zoro and Ace were keeping good care of the other two as well. As his Father clearly pointed out, they were his responsibility now.

Luffy brought himself back to paying attention when he realised he was dwelling too much. He needed to get back safely first before it was decided what had to be done. This road was dangerous he knew, and he didn't want to get caught worrying too intently over a piece of luggage.

**_S_**

The road was empty. There wasn't any sign of any person or beast for miles. Dragon smiled confidently as he paraded forwards, whilst the assassins behind, glanced around with much more worry on their faces. Luffy, in particular, was on edge. Each rock was a potential hiding spot, each sound could possibly be an ambush moving into position. If Luffy wasn't so stubborn to admit it, he would have said he was paranoid. However, he had lived in these lands long enough and had learned that the paranoid survived, whilst those who were ignorant soon died...

Suddenly, Luffy stopped. His eyes catching a small glint of steel in the distance.

"GRAND MASTER!" he called. Dragon stopped and turned around but Luffy was soon by his side and staring ahead. Dragon looked forward to see what Luffy was staring at...then he noticed the man who was standing further up the road. The man wore white and a red cross was drawn adorned the man's chest. His eyes were shadowed under a cap and a white cloak hung from his shoulders.

"That's quite far enough assassin..." the man spoke in a thick foreign accent, glaring at the group from underneath the shadow of his cap "what is your business on these roads?"

"We are merely travelling" Dragon replied, glaring back at the man in the road "and who, pray tell, are you?"

"My name is not important" the man growled, his voice low and grizzly "but this road is not open to you and your kind"

"And why is that?" Dragon asked, fingering the hilt of his blade. The other assassin's did the same, whilst Luffy flexed his palm, drawing out a hidden blade.

"Because this road is now under the control of the Templar order" the man explained and, as he spoke, he sound of hooves sounded from behind him and over 20 horses appeared into view, their riders in full armour.

"...I see..." Dragon mumbled hesitantly "...we mean you no harm! Let us pass on our way and we will not need to engage in these frivolities!"

"This is coming from the man who is outnumbered and outclassed" the templar in the cap retorted "...and I am afraid we must now put you out of your misery..."

"We ride to the ruins..." Luffy muttered under his breath to Ace "this situation has taken a turn for the worst and I'd rather these women not face death because of us..."

_**P**_

Nami was confused. They had stopped again and she was once again blindly trying to conceive what exactly was going on. She listened more intently this time as she heard voices.

"Where are we now?" Nami thought impatiently, obviously anxious enough over this whole ordeal to want to know exactly how far they were. As best she could, Nami tried desperately to hear through the material concealing and protecting her from the elements around her, through the wind, and to whatever voices she was hearing. All she could tell though that people in front of the creature she was on were talking. "To what?" Nami asked herself quietly. "Were they talking to others, maybe someone that would rescue us?" Nami contemplated struggling like mad to grab any possible outside attention. Before she could even decide though, she heard a voice above her. The next moment, they were moving. Nami sighed at this, but her eyes suddenly widened as she realised that the ride was becoming FAR more bumpy than usual. In fact... they were heading downward!

"MMMNNTH?" Nami cried as she was thrown particularly hard at all the moving around. She realised that it was a wonder she was still on the horse and prayed that wouldn't change, for she feared falling and hurting herself in her helpless state (Especially if that particular fall ended up lethal.) While it was rough, she did feel the same hand on her, gripping her tightly, and ensuring that she wouldn't fall off. Whatever reason it was, though she wouldn't admit it to them or anyone if they asked, Nami was grateful to have at least someone protecting her. Whether it was for a selfish or noble cause, to keep a new toy undamaged or to keep her safe from harm for her own sake. "And even if it is the bastards who kidnapped us!" Nami thought in annoyance.

*CLANG!* Nami let out a shrill muffled scream as she suddenly heard a load banging of steel, too close to her for her own comfort.

_**S**_

Luffy's reaction as he parried the sword away from Nami's sack was pure rage.

"TOUCH THAT AND I'LL RIP YOUR ARMS OUT OF THEIR SOCKETS!" he cursed, before grabbing the horseman's leg with his free hand. Then, he flexed his palm, causing the hidden blade to poke out and rip through the man's leg. The attacker cried and reeled in pain. As he did so, Luffy flexed his other palm and brought the second hidden blade down right through the horse's skull. The horse gave one last cry of pain before it fell over. Luffy then gripped the reigns of the horse again, as well as catching Nami's sack that was slightly slipping off his horse, due to him letting it go to kill the pursuing horse. The horse hit the floor and the rider fell with it. At first, the horse rolled down the hill but slowed down as the road flattened out slightly. Luffy glanced back as he rode, watching as the horses behind failed to stop. Most of the pursuers (over 12 by Luffy's count) leapt their horses over the wreckage and carried on going. One lucky man had even rode over the mess but the others stumbled over the obstruction and fell to the floor as well. Luffy's threat was useless now. The templar had been most likely trampled to death. Shaking his head at the morbid thought, Luffy kept riding faster, tightening the grip he had on Nami's sack. Nami noticed that the ground soon levelled off quite quickly and the horses began to ride faster, causing her to bounce up and down more and more. She felt like she was going to be sick but, strangely, the grip on her arm calmed her down and her breathing became less hurried and erratic. The canyon road Luffy had mentioned wasn't far at all. The canyon was also quite large, with the exception of the narrow entrance. Luckily, the assassin's horses managed to pass through the gap as their heels pounded on the hard rocky ground. So far, the hooded men had suffered no casualties but Dragon feared the worst as they neared their new safe haven.

"THERE ARE THE RUINS!" he called "GET INSIDE AND FORTIFY ALL OF THE SIDES OF IT! WE SHALL MAKE OUR STAND HERE!"

"YES MASTER" the assassins cried in reply over the horse's loud gallop.

_**P**_

They quickly ride into the ruins, instantly searching for ways to take advantage of it as they readied to strike back against their Templar pursuers. Luffy, however, had other concerns first. Looking around him to see Ace and Zoro still close by to him, and relieved to see they still carried the girls safely, Luffy called to them. "Ace, Zoro, over here!" The two nodded at this and followed Luffy deeper into the ruins.

This lead them to a hiding spot out of sight from the upcoming battle, where Luffy stopped his horse to inspect. It was an old storage room, with some empty containers and hay that would make good use for jumping into from a high place. A bit dusty, but it was big enough to not seem too cramped, and he only needed to hide a few things.

Luffy quickly got off his horse, taking some time to empty stacks of hay before lifting the sack off his horse and carefully laying her on the pile. Luffy turned to the other two who also got off their horse. Without Luffy telling them, they caught on quickly and did the same, placing Nojiko and Vivi beside Nami. From watching them shift, Luffy could tell they were understandably confused, and Luffy leaned over towards them.

"Can you hear me?" They stiffen. Taking that as a sign, Luffy spoke again. "We'll be back soon. If you value your lives, you will wait patiently."

At this, Luffy got up and ran back, hoping nothing bad would happen to them while he was gone, or that the Templars hadn't already done anything in his absence.

And with that, Nami was once again left alone. She waited a few minutes as after the footsteps had died down, just incise, before shifting about.

"NNMMNNTH, MMN?" She called out. She listened for a moment to hear other muffling calls beside her, from both sides by the sounds of it. Nami sighed in relief. "MMN!" while she still worries that by some cruel means she was wrong, as far as she could perceive, not only were they still together with her, but Vivi and Nojiko were still okay.

"We'll separate from here!" Ace said to the two, "Zoro, you take the low route and engage them in close combat. Go all out but try to at least surprise one or two." Zoro nodded at this before sprinting ahead.

"To the roof tops?" Luffy asked with a grin.

Ace grinned back, "Oh definitely."

_**S**_

With a wide grin on their faces, the three assassins took off. In seconds, the area was deserted.

The assassins were on the hunt...

* * *

><p>Akainu watched the action from afar on horseback. From what he could see, the ruins were going to turn into a battleground between his Templar agents and the assassins. He glared angrily at the ruins. It was just like the assassins to fight in cover. They were cowards, after all, who fought from the shadows. The ruins were a perfect combat area for them. It made Akainu sick. One day, he'd get those assassins right where he wanted them...and there, backed into a corner, with nowhere to run or hide, he would watch as they all fell to the ground...<p>

* * *

><p>Two of the Templars quickly walked into the ruins, brandishing their swords. The assassins were near. Their scent was close. Now...all that needed to be done was that they needed to locate them, then the battle would be easy. Of course, this was easier said than done. Luffy's opinion that paranoia kept you alive in this world of sand soon became a troubling fact for the templar's. Soon, each rock looked like it could have been a hiding place, each shadow on the wall flickered in movement and even the sound of a buzzing insect was misinterpreted as an assassin unsheathing his blade. Slowly, the Templars began to realise the situation they had been lured into.<p>

The hunters were now the hunted...

"BACK TO BACK!" one of the templar's called and his comrade ran over to him. The two then stood back to back, scanning the area around for the enemy...

_**P**_

Outnumbered they may have been. But now the Templars were outclassed. The light and the shadows were on the Assassin's side in this battle, for they had trained to use these natural elements in the landscape to bring about the end of their prey.

Fear, anxiety, paranoia, surprise, unease. These were all forms of emotion that were used against you when you fought with those who hid in the shadows. But even without them, the Assassins were not helpless, for they were formidable opponents when forced out of the darkness and into enlightenment.

This was the sad reality the Templars had to live with, as one was grabbed from behind and silently stabbed with a blade. Another was slain when a knife was thrown through the air and pierced through his back, causing him to drop off the ledge he was told to inspect. That same body fell in front of the two Templars that were back to back, causing them to avert their gaze and draw their swords at they're now lifeless ally. A grave mistake, for out of the shadows came another Assassin, who slashed through both of them, if unsubtly, with three swords, one's that appeared to be long and curved, all unique in design and extremely sharp, one in his mouth while the other two were held from either hand. Zoro looked around at the three corpses around him, leaving the area to find more Templars to slaughter.

Luffy and Ace eyed them below from their crouched position from the roof tops. There was five Templars below them, all just standing there, stock waiting to be killed and stuffed for a feast later. The Assassin's weren't cannibals, but the metaphor did cause Luffy's tongue to lick his lips at the thought of food. Ace silently signalled to him with his hands. Luffy understood and got ready for their next strike.

The two leapt off of the roof tops and stabbed two of the Templars as they hit the ground. Quickly, before the other three could barely realise, Luffy had gotten up to stab another with his hidden blade, whilst Ace opted to just throw a throwing knife at another. Terrified by the men around him dying, the last Templar fled for his life. Luffy contemplated letting him go, not out of compassion really but rather to teach him not to mess with them, but Ace just threw another knife, and soon the man was dead as well as the others.

_**S**_

"How many of them are left?" Luffy asked, crouching down and closing the eyes of one of the templar's.

"We've killed 5 and I think Zoro got 4 of them...so that's 3 more!" Ace revealed, standing up and getting ready to move.

"I didn't know you could count Ace..." Luffy commented with a sly smile. Ace growled in reply at the statement and, suddenly, he disappeared, leaping over a nearby wall into the shadow. Luffy took off on the hunt as well, dashing over to the left around the corner.

* * *

><p>Nami was quiet. She found no reason why she had to cry out. After all, the hooded men who had kidnapped her and her friends didn't want to kill her...but she had guessed from the sounds of steel that the people who had caused the hooded men to abandon them here must not have been as friendly, seeing as they had even tried to kill her. The shape of the sack would obviously indicate to the fact that there was someone inside it, so why had those men attacked?...<p>

Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps. Nami stopped moving and listened. The footsteps were close...was it the kidnappers? or...or somebody else? Feeling the alluring joy of being free once more, Nami began to cry out of her muffled gag. Help! She was going to be saved! The footsteps came nearer...she could feel someone undoing the sack...Nami's heart began to beat faster and she smiled from under her gag. SAFETY! SHE WAS GOING TO BE FREE! SHE WAS GOING TO...

Suddenly, the blindfold she was wearing was ripped off and the sudden light blinded her for a moment. She could make out the silhouettes of two men looking at her.

"What?" one of the blobs said "what is this?"

"So the assassins were kidnapping her, were they?" the other blob asked

"Looks like they have two others as well" a third voice called from out of Nami's vision.

"Hey hey hey! Guys look at this! She's a dancing girl!" one of the men called. By now, Nami's vision had recovered and, once she realised that the templar's were gawking at her body, she looked away with a blush.

"Yeah, she looks hot..." the third voice called as another armoured soldier appeared next to his comrades.

"I think she wants to have some fun, don't you guys" the first guard said, reaching down and gently rubbing her chin. Nami tried to scream in protest but she found she couldn't due to the gag. The templar's laughed at the girl's venerable state, creeping slowly closer towards her.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you're coming with us. We'll make sure you have a good time..." one of the guards said. Nami's eyes began to water and she closed her eyes in fear...

...Then she felt a small drop of liquid on her bare skin...

Opening her eyes, Nami gasped as she saw a small stream of blood flying through the air. It appeared that the scholar from the bar had just jumped down and murdered two of the men who were trying to take her. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to scream or breathe a sigh of relief.

_**P**_

Luffy had only come back to quickly check on the group, to make sure they were alright and were still there waiting for them to return. He specifically, if hurriedly, chose a room he didn't expect the Templar's to go and look, for the Assassin's were their target. He had, however, found himself looking down on three of those same Templar's, having loosely stripped one of his captive of both the sack she was in and her coat, revealing the bare luscious body decorated in her alluring dancer outfit. From what he gathered, it was clear these, 'Knights of Justice', not only intended to take his captive as their own, but also intended to take away more than just her freedom.

At this, Luffy wasted no time, swooping down to kill the two fools closest to her. He silently wished she didn't have to see that and briefly checked if she was okay and not too shaken. The last thing he needed was a crying woman making as much as a scene as possible and eating at his conscious further. If nothing else, her eyes and muffled gasp told her that she was undoubtedly surprised. Besides that though, she seemed to be recovering. This observation, however, only took a few moments before he turned back to glare fiercely at the remaining Templar who had backed away, clearly scared out of his wits after having both his comrades die beside him. Luffy, however, refrained from lunging at him however, instead letting his pitiful fate be decided by another.

"Beat it!" Luffy ordered, causing the man to flee in terror.

With all said and done, Luffy turned back once again to the Women. The other two were quiet in their sacks, making him briefly wonder if they were somehow replaced before noticing some uneasy shifting between the two, likely anxious and possibly confused over exactly what happened. The orange haired one was the only one they inspected and seemed to have calmed down. While likely still not happy over her predicament, she was at least resigned to accept the lesser of the two evils. Silently Luffy walked up to her, leaning down and lightly wiping the blood that had spilled on her fair skin with his robe. Afterwards, he refastened her coat so it was once again covering her body, offering no resistance. He readjusted the scarf that was hanging from her neck now and retied it over her large brown eyes and once again concealing them, before bringing the hood of her coat to conceal her further.

"Sorry, but I still have something to do. Stay quiet." Luffy said to all of the girls. He didn't wait for them to reply. As he began to once again cover up the dancer, he found himself tempted to once again kiss the woman's forehead in reassurance, he however, decided against it before tying the sack tightly shut.

* * *

><p>Akainu waited for his men. He waited and waited for some form of signal or report. He, however, didn't expect any, for he already deduced the fate of the men he had sent to hunt the cowardly Assassins. Not bothering to try and engage them when the odds were clearly in their favour, he just sat back on his horse, scanning the canyon containing the ruins for any sign. To his mild surprise however, he saw a lone figure running towards him. Akainu's eyes narrowed as the man got closer, revealing himself to be one of his own men. "What are you doing?" Akainu asked harshly, already guessing the man's intentions.<p>

"My apologies- there, was, to, many of them!" The man said out of breath at the hurried sprinting he made himself do. "We have to retreat, those monsters are everywhere, all our comrades have been killed from wherever I saw, please, le..."

Those were the man's last words, before he was beheaded by his superior. "I have no desire to retreat with a coward." Akainu growled, re-sheathing his sword, before turning his horse around to leave the scene as he left any remaining survivors to die.

* * *

><p><em><strong>S<strong>_

"Are they gone?" Ace asked, dropping down from nearby behind Luffy. Luffy turned around and nodded.

"The last one fled, so that means that they're all gone" he explained.

"Right" Ace clarified, before he looked around. It appeared that Dragon, Zoro and the two other assassins were okay as they were currently walking slowly towards the two brothers.

"I'll refrain from saying I told you so" Luffy called over to Dragon. Dragon could barely hide the smile on his face at his son's skill, noticing the two dead bodies on the ground.

"Unfortunately, I say we should we keep moving" Dragon said, glancing back up the hill "the templar leader must have fled. He could be back with reinforcements any minute. Rest up quickly and then we'll get the girls back on the horses"

**_P_**

Luffy, Ace and Zoro sat together, this time staying in the storage room that they left the girls in. Luffy wondered if any of them were perhaps hungry by now. They had been travelling the rest of the night they had left the city and all morning as they travelled through the desert and up the mountain path... Luffy was certainly starving, but through his training he had disciplined himself not to complain out load of such petty if essential desires... No matter how tempting it was as his stomach craved to be full. Hopefully they could eat later, but Dragon had only allowed them a short rest and no time to prepare any sort of meal before they went off again.

The young Dancers just sat in silence as they waited. They had no idea what was going on and were all anxious as they sat there on the surprisingly soft cushion they had been laid on. Vivi was wondering what happened to the men that were talking to them earlier, grimly presuming they had been perhaps killed and fearing for their safety. Nojiko was wondering what the hell was going on, and what was taking their captives so long. Nami was just thinking back over the earlier events, how they were left here only to be found by armoured men leering at her, and then to be presumably saved by the very man who kidnapped them.

All of their thoughts were interrupted however as they heard a man talking and were soon lifted once again. Luffy had once again taken a hold of what he knew was the orange haired dancers sack and gently as he could placed her on his horse, then reins it himself as he prepared to depart.

Dragon had waited until he saw that they were all surely ready, before leading the group away. In no time at all they were out of the ruins and once again on their way home.

* * *

><p><strong>ENDING MEMORY SESSION...PLEASE LEAVE ALL YOUR SEATS AND TRAYS IN THEIR UPRIGHT POSITION BEFORE EXITING. THANK YOU.<strong>

**S: And that's chapter two off the list! We hope you all enjoyed it :D**

**P: I'm just glad we got the second bloody chapter done. Still, hope you've enjoyed it. Because I doubt your opinions are going to stop us from publishing the third chapter anyway.**

**S: True...but that still doesn't mean you can't give us some constructive criticism on how to improve, so please review and give us some feedback.**

**Until next time, I'm Shadowonthewall6! :D**

**P: Reviews, Advise and Criticism would be appreciated. I'm Bear D Polar and I hope you have enjoyed this. Later**

**Thanks for reading.**


	3. One Life's Home, another's Prison

**P: Okay, 16 review and we're on our third chapter. We had some issues (or at least I did) with setting up this chapter, but here it is... It's a bit longer than I would of liked though.**

**S: Then again, I don't think any of our readers will complain about the size...unless they really dislike long chapters (I recommend that you get yourself a drink and a snack before hand, seeing as this is probably the longest chapter we've done so far).**

**P: Of course not. People love long chapters, which is partly the reason why I insisted them to be around 10000 words between us. And considering the contents of the chapter, your advice should be taken for this somewhat laid back chapter... and these Author Note's aren't helping the length either. So we won't keep you all any longer.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or Assassin's Creed. They belong to Eiichiro Oda and Ubisoft**

**WARNING: The fallowing chapter has an EXTREME out-of-character moment. All you need to know is that it's completely Shadowon's fault.**

**ANIMUS STARTING. FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT LIKE WHITE SCREENS AND BLACK TEXT, THERE IS AN OPTION ON THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THIS PAGE THAT WILL SWAP IT INTO A BLACK SCREEN WITH WHITE ****TEXT. APPROPRIATE FOR THOSE READING AT NIGHT OR DON'T LIKE WHITE SCREENS WITH BLACK TEXT.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 3: One Life's Home, another's Prison<strong>_

S

They travelled as quickly as the wind, racing along the road. Once more, Nami was bounced around within her sack, the hand that steadied her now becoming more of an annoyance than a source of support. She didn't know how long they had been travelling. It could have been hours so far but she still had no idea. She was glad when the horses finally slowed to a stop. She could hear her captors talking for a moment, before she was hoisted up off the horse and onto someone's shoulder.

"Home sweet home..." Luffy muttered as he looked up at the town that lay before him. Windmill village was a peaceful town. The streets were full of people bustling about on their daily business. Shops and stalls were all along the front of the town, where as houses and hotels were closer to the centre of the city. However, not too far in the distance, Luffy could see the noble spire belonging to the Dawn temple, reaching into the blood red sunset sky. The temple was a grand fortress of knowledge and home to the followers of the creed.

P

The group of Assassin's reined the horses in the nearby stable before heading into the Village itself. The occupants were no doubt aware of both the fact that important people were now entering the Village and who it was. While most went about their business, a couple did greet the group with polite and delighted welcomes, particularly to the Grand Master who was striding at the front of them, expectantly, and rightly, all of his men to follow. No one questioned what they were carrying. Luffy would have preferred to have simply ran or climbed up the cliff that housed their sacred sanctuary. Dawn Temple, the haven, academy, and home of the Assassin's Brotherhood. A fortress built for defence when needed, made of the strongest hardest material this age could muster that went beyond that would usually be found for other buildings or great monuments, and as rare as you could imagine.

The grand spire stuck up from the top, pointing to the sky above, reaching for the heavens. The building had three levels to it. The very top led to the high defensive walls which had another slightly below it. Below that was a grand balcony that came from Dragon's office, who would regularly come out and stand there to great the village, and if need be, any guest at a distance, usually unwelcome but quickly disposed of. The last one was, of course, the very bottom, leading to a huge gate that was connected by a bridge that was a couple of meters long and almost as many meters wide. The bridge was naturally used to seal off the entrance encase they wanted to keep someone out. It also served the rare purpose of crushing any fool who came too close. But the bridge was merely used today for allowing people to walk over it and through the huge gate of the Temple and over the small revenue disconnecting the front entrance to the village path down the cliff. Luffy smiled at the activity, but hid it and soon went serious again. He knew where they were heading. His Father more then likely wanted a word with him in private, along with his captives.

S

Luffy and the group of travellers continued walking forwards, allowing the large fortress to embrace them within its white stone walls. The inside of the temple, as usual, was filled with activity. Assassins were walking to and fro through the crowd, some returning for a good night's rest and others leaving to pursue their contracts or other duties. Out of all the people in the courtyard, twelve stood out the most as they were standing nearby. They weren't as tall as the other assassins and were much less calm than the others. No doubt they were new recruits. In fact, the new recruits were currently being trained by their sensei, a tall dark haired woman with a stern gaze.

"Put your backs into it now! I want you to get to the top of that rock wall by the end of the day"

"But Miss. Nico, we might fall..."

"TRUE ASSASSIN'S CHOOSE WHEN TO FALL!" Nico Robin shouted up at the recruit cowering on the wall "we show no fear and I have confidence that you will show the same courage"

"Y-yes Miss!" the recruit called back, before he continued to climb the wall that stretched all the way to the top wall of the fort.

"Hey Robin!" Luffy cried in greeting, waving his free hand in her direction with a smile.

P

Robin turned to the shouting boy, before smiling softly and giving a gentle wave towards his direction. She scanned the scene before her to find that he was with other Assassin's including his Father, Grand Master Dragon. Robin's eyes, however, lay elsewhere as her pleasant smile widened into a sinister grin. Zoro looked back at her, also grinning, before bringing up a hand to gesture her to 'wait'. Robin nodded at this and turned back towards her students.

"Oh my, you've already made a start, keep climbing." Despite Robin now showing her usual calmer and softer side, her students found themselves even more afraid of her at that moment.

Zoro had continued to carry the sack while following Luffy, who by extent was following the Grand Master. Zoro was unaware of what might happen to him and neither did Luffy probably. Though Ace probably knew. At any rate however, he hoped nothing too drastic would happen. Sighing a bit, Zoro made the decision to stay by Luffy as he went through this. He and Robin could wait a bit longer to start their 'game'.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Nami had been confused. Hell, all the way through she had not the slightest clue what was going the hell on! (For obvious reasons) All she knew right now, though, was that she was being carried from quite a distance at this point. When was she going to be put down? What was going to happen? She had heard crowds of people all around her but none took notice of the packages these men were holding.

Taking a bit of a risk, she had randomly struggled and cried for help, but none seemed to have investigated, questioned or even spoke up at what contents they were holding. Were they being ignored? Was their influence so great that no one cared or could do anything about a possible kidnapping? She was sure she even managed to hit a few bystanders but none paid her mind. She couldn't even tell if she made even a once of a commotion. All she was rewarded with were stern warnings to stop... and an unwelcome much firmer grip and twist of her arm. They continued to carry her to, whatever. She felt herself being carried up some stairs and eventually through what she could tell was some sort of door, maybe. At last they had stopped...

"What now?" Nami thought, once again fear rushing through her mind.

S

Suddenly, Nami gasped as she was placed down on the floor of the room. The rope around the sack opened and the blindfold was ripped off. Light flooded her vision. The light, however, wasn't too bright, with only a single candle casting a single orange flame around the large room. It appeared to be a library or a study of some kind. Nami quickly looked around and sighed with relief from behind her gag as she noticed that Vivi and Nojiko were unhurt. Quickly, she looked upwards and realised that standing above her was the same scholar from the night before. He said nothing as he met her gaze and turned to look at a man in a black robe.

"Now, if you two don't mind, I'd like to have a talk with Luffy in private" the man in the dark cloak stated, his cold eyes looking over his son "keep these three here. I will deal with them later"

"Why not take them outside into the gardens?" the scholar asked "they've had a long and rough journey. We should un-tie them and let them get comfortable

"They are our prisoners!" the grand master barked sternly "they aren't here to relax. They are here because they are causing us problems..."

"And we are not savages father!" Luffy argued, ignoring how the grand master flinched at being called such a title "they can't escape from the citadel and, if they do, they won't get as far as the main gate before someone catches them and brings them back up here" For a moment, the father was silent, gazing at his son in confusion. Then, he sighed.

"Take them outside then...BUT KEEP AN EYE ON THEM! IF THIS GETS ANY WORSE, IT WILL BE ON YOUR HEAD!" he shouted to the scholar. The scholar nodded in reply. With nothing more to say, the four other assassins picked Nami and her friends off the floor and began to carry them outside into the garden. Nami looked back and, for the first time in her kidnapping, she noticed a small twinge of fear on the scholar's expression as his father led him to the desk at the end of the hall...

P

Slowly, Luffy followed his Father deeper into the room, right until they got to the Grand Master's desk. The fearsome leader of the Assassin's went around the desk, taking every step in stride as he quietly sat down on his chair, leaning his elbows on the desk and hiding the bottom of his face behind his now connected fingers. In this sitting position, his eyes were even more noticeably piercing, even in the dim light and through the shadow of his hood. In fact, it probably made his gaze ever more frightening. "What, happened?" The Grand Master finally said. Luffy gulped silently at this, and he probably heard it anyway, knowing full well that he was listening to every sound he made as he wanted a full proper answer, detailed with an explanation.

Thinking of no other way to go about it, Luffy recited his tale to his Father, starting from where he entered the city with Ace and Zoro, separating from them as the three agreed Luffy would handle the Assassination on his own.

* * *

><p>Nami was carried out of the room and carried, yet again, to another destination, but this time they were out of the sacks that they were confined in since they were taken from the city...<p>

"Even if we did get out of this, we're most certainly fired." Nami thought bitterly as she still remembered the instruction Bon Clay had gave them. Nami's thoughts were interrupted however as she was placed on some sort of soft ground, and forced to stay on her knees.

"MMNNF?" Nami muffles in confusion as her coat was roughly taken off of her body, revealing her Dancer outfit, her bare body and the expertly tied rope binding all in one go. The same was done to Vivi and Nojiko, and to their relieved delight, they felt the scholars close to them fiddle with the knots around them and carefully began to loosen their bindings! Slowly but surely, the young Dancers felt the pressure made by the ropes easing from their arms and upper body, then their ankles, and then the rest of their leg, and finally their wrists! The girls were left to wiggle out of the rope themselves and at the first chance she could without hesitation, Nami grabbed a hold of the cloth covering half of her face and yanks it down her neck before coughing and pulling the stuffing out.

"AIR!" Nami thought gleefully as she tried to take a deep breath, but she instantly began coughing. Her lips and throat were dry, without any moisture for ages, except for the constant saliva and drool that soaked into the cloth shoved in her mouth and around her lips. "AAHH?" Nami had tried to get up but felt sore all over her body and quickly keels over in pain. She noticed in her pain that Vivi and Nojiko were having similar problems. Escape? HAH! THEY STILL COULDN'T EVEN MOVE!

"You three had best take it easy." Understandably, the Dancers all went to look at Ace, two of them glaring, while Vivi simply awaited an explanation. "You three have been bounded for a while. Your limps fell asleep a long while ago and you're in no condition to be moving." The girls investigated themselves the best they could in their state. They noticed that their limps were unhealthily red and purple, the ropes having disrupted the blood circulation in their bodies. "You must be thirsty. There's a fountain of fresh water in this Garden, nice and cold drinking water."

S

"Do you want to be carried over there?" Ace suggested with a smile and a wink. Nojiko and Nami both growled at Ace's flirtatious comment. The green haired scholar, however, who had now removed his hood sat down beside the girls and held out a large bottle of water.

"Here" he said calmly, waiting for the girl's to reply. When none of them moved, he sighed and placed the bottle on the floor "the offer still stands if you want it. I couldn't care less whether you drink it or not. It'll be your funeral" Nami flinched at the harsh words and then looked down at the water bottle. With numb fingers, she attempted to reach for the bottle. Seeing her struggling, the green haired scholar sighed once more and grabbed the bottle for her.

"Open up" he demanded, holding the bottle nearer to her mouth. Nami gave him a cynical glare as he offered her the drink. Zoro rolled his eyes at the woman's stubborn nature "Are you going to actually work with me here or do you want to die of thirst?" he asked. The decision weighed heavily on Nami's mind for a while, before she opened her mouth a little. The swordsman was not as careful or as considerate as her kidnapper as he roughly shoved the water sack into Nami's mouth for her to drink and Nami almost choked on the sheer amount of water. Zoro quickly pulled away and she swallowed it with a satisfied gasp. It tasted like defeat...

* * *

><p>Luffy finished his tale and looked over to Dragon, hoping to judge his father's reaction. Oddly enough, Dragon didn't exactly now how to react. On the one hand, Luffy had accomplished the assassination to perfect standards and usually, being spotted performing an assassination would not usually be as troublesome as it would have been in this situation (Crocodile would have taken large counter measures against the assassins for the murder of the captain of his guard). On the other hand, Luffy had been careless and, worse, he had been seen. The creed's second maxim was to strike from the shadows and to always take the most secretive route. Luffy had endangered the creed and the creed called for punishment, for blood.<p>

"Luffy..." he mumbled cautiously "these women, you've never met them before?"

"No master" Luffy answered.

"Is there any way that we can swear them into secrecy?"

"They worked for Crocodile. I doubt they would" Luffy replied.

"Then...we have no choice. These women must be killed..."

"KILLED?" Luffy shouted in outrage "THE FIRST TENNANT OF THE CREED IS TO STAY OUR HAND FROM THE LIFE OF AN INNOCENT!"

"AND THE THIRD TENNANT IS TO PROTECT THE ORDER AT ALL COST!" Dragon yelled back "I KNOW THE CREED LUFFY! I WAS PRESENT WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN IN ITS CURRENT INCARNATION!"

"But father, these women have done no such crime!" Luffy argued.

"Well then my SON" Dragon snarled, stepping closer to Luffy "who IS to blame then?"

"Me" Luffy stated simply, hanging his head in turn. Dragon, not expecting this response, took a step backwards.

"...You?" he asked "you would bare the sins of these women? You would have us punish you instead of them?" Luffy nodded.

"Yes master..." he reluctantly replied.

Dragon was silent for a moment, before he nodded."...Very well...I shall consult the creed on your future...but those women cannot return to Rainbase!" Dragon said "if we will not kill them, WHAT shall we do with them?"

"...Induct them into the order" Luffy stated "make them...turn them into Assassins..."To say Dragon was annoyed at this suggestion was an understatement. He was furious.

P

The Grand Master glared fiercely at his son.

"Do you have any idea what you're suggesting?" he asked harshly, demanding the young Assassin explain himself further. Luffy hesitantly nodded at this.

"I am perfectly willing to hold the responsibility of training them myself."

Dragon's eyes narrow further, "You said it yourself, they worked for Crocodile." he pointed out.

"... Yes, but Zoro was once an enemy." Luffy reminded him.

Dragon was silent for a moment, ready to ask his final question. "You don't intend to force them into it?"

Luffy shook his head, "I couldn't, it would endanger the Brotherhood and be against the Creed."

The leader of the Assassins took a moment to think this suggestion over, before sighing. "You can't be asking this sort of thing Luffy." Dragon says. Luffy was mildly surprised that he referred to him directly but kept his composure, and waiting for him to continue with a cold sweet running down his face. "Your request is denied until further notice." Dragon paused as he waits for the boys reply. When none came he continued, "All three of their lives will be spared, but their now your responsibility. You shall keep them under house arrest in your living quarters. They shall not be permitted to leave without permission, when given the authority to go outside you shall take measures to keep them in check. I am not concerned how, put them on a leash if you have to. You shall also provide for their daily necessities, and you shall be sure to punish and restrain them if needed"

"... So they're my prisoners?" Luffy asked sceptically, not quite liking where this was going.

"Regardless of what they are, I want to hear no trouble from them. Understood?" Dragon asked, though Luffy knew that his decision was final. Their lives would be spared, but their freedom would not.

Luffy bowed his head, knowing there was no other choice, "Understood, I shall take full responsibility."

The room was silent for a long moment, before Dragon got up from his chair and faced away from Luffy. "You may go." And with that said, Luffy made his way to the door, not looking back at the Grand Master of the Assassins.

* * *

><p>Nami flexed her body a bit, testing the movement of her wrist and arms. "It's not as bad, it's definitely recovering." Nami noted.<p>

Nojiko sighed, "Yeah, I hate to have more water shoved in my mouth by that clumsy oaf." Nojiko said as she leans back a bit. She had been referring to Zoro, who had taken the liberty of giving all of them water, though they fared just about as well as Nami. They were at least a bit refreshed now though. All they were doing was sitting on the grassy plain of the Garden, trying to relax and slowly recovering from their ordeal.

Fresh air, a comfortable grassy ground, a quiet nice atmosphere. If nothing else, they were at least blessed with a heavenly prison. Vivi smiled at the sight of the Garden, "You know, this place is wonderful." Nami and Nojiko looked at Vivi oddly for a moment, before grasping what she was referring to and briefly taking in the sight once again.

It was a pretty large place. The entrance was at the end of it with two guards blocking it, and blocking from what they could see was the only exit. Behind them and in the middle of it was indeed a large fountain that had a large spire coming out of the middle with water pouring back down to the sides like waterfalls down the flowery platforms. The edges seemed to be big enough to work as benches, which the girls contemplated going to try out along with the water itself. From what they could perceive, they seemed to be in the top section of the Garden, for they could see a ledge that could be stairs. They were, of course, in the middle of a round grassy plain between the entrance and the fountain, flowers being sprouted on a few places with some exotic plants growing on the edges. The two Assassins' that weren't guarding the door were currently sitting as well, as if waiting for something. Possibly their kidnapper?

"A true Garden of Eden." Nami compared the place to, as she sighed once again. She had closed her eyes briefly for a moment, taking in the serene environment that she was trapped in. When she opened them, they shot wider as she notice the familiar Scholar dressed man walk into the guarder, the guards having politely stepped out of his way.

S

"How'd it go?" the green haired man asked, turning to his accomplice. The scholar did not reply for a moment as he removed his hood, revealing long raven locks and dark black eyes. There was a small cut under his right eye that looked as if it had been stitched carefully closed. The man bore a depressed expression as he stared back at his comrades. It was obvious from his rigid posture that bad news was to follow...

"I crashed and burned..." the scholar replied simply, sighing loudly with sorrow.

"What was Dragon's verdict?" Ace asked, noticing that the women sitting nearby had suddenly tensed up and were listening to the conversation.

"...Dragon wasn't the most agreeable of people..." he mumbled with a sigh "I managed to get him to agree that we were going to let them live..."

"But?" Zoro asked, detecting the hesitation in his friend's voice.

"Their freedom was not so easily bought" Luffy explained "I tried hard to persuade him but, in the end, he judged that we...or more specifically, I, have to keep these girls under house arrest"

P

Everyone was silent at this news. They were all taking in the information and thinking over it. Luffy turned to look at the girls, guessing correctly that they had heard what he said. At his gaze they looked away, not sure what to think of it. They weren't even sure exactly what 'House Arrest' implied in this circumstance, as for all they knew, it meant they had just been declared his personal slaves or pets. Luffy looked them over, fully comprehending that they were stripped of their coats and bindings and were just sitting in a small makeshift circle for the moment. Their gazes were looking elsewhere though, either towards each other or low to the ground. Luffy turns to Ace. "How are they?"

"Better. They had trouble moving for a few minutes, but I say they're more or less alright now. They may still find themselves a bit sore though while moving." Luffy nodded at this.

"I probably have to get some sort of collars or cuffs." Luffy told him. "I'm under strict orders to keep them within my sight and reach outside home... Even if I have to keep a leash on them." Luffy informed them.

S

"Do you just expect us to be your slaves?" Nami shouted suddenly, glaring at her raven haired captor "Well, I've got news for you pal! Not on your life!" Luffy tilted his head in her direction and then, he slowly leaned over towards Nami, until his face was only an inch from hers.

"...No...I expect you to sit there like a good little prisoner and be thankful that I wasted my time in trying to preserve your god damn lives!" Luffy growled "Now, if you want to say anything other than a thank you, I'd like you to try directing all of your complaints to someone who GIVES A CRAP!" the garden was suddenly left silent in awe as Luffy glared straight into Nami's dark brown eyes. Nami was quiet for a while and then, looked downwards away from his gaze. Ace and Zoro were staring at him in the same shocked way. Luffy had finally lost his temper with the situation and he knew it...however, it made him oddly calmer as he gave a sigh of content as he finished speaking. Finally, accepting his first proper victory of the day, he stood up and looked up at the sky "right then. We've got one hour and a half before sundown, so let's get this over with and find a nice place for you girls to rest for the night..."

P

The Scholar dressed man went to the bags and material that was previously used on the Dancers, but too their relief he was just stuffing them inside the bag this time and didn't seem to be planning to use any of it on them again. As Nami watched him pack she sighed and tries to stand up again. She felt a bit wobbly but was never the less successful. She walked up to grab a hold of her coat that was taken off of her during the process the being untied. Picking up both the long white hooded coat and the matching scarf that she had taken off of herself earlier, she began to put them on herself again. This time, however, she didn't bother buttoning it up and instead just let the sides droop as she placed her arms through the sleeves, still revealing what was inside from the middle. She then loosely tied her scarf back around her neck before turning to her friends. Nojiko and Vivi had followed her example and did the same. Nojiko wearing her dark red coat and brownish scarf, whilst Vivi had her dark blue on. They turned to see the man was done packing, watching as he walked over to them with... Nami's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched him approach with a long bundle of rope in his hand, along with the bag with everything else inside (along with the other bags) being lifted from his shoulder. Luffy put down the bag and pulls the ropes in front of them.

"Are you three going to cooperate, or do we have to do things the hard way again?" Naturally, they were hesitant, but they all knew the circumstance. Even if they resisted, they would certainly lose and be forcefully tied again. Worse yet, he would probably resort to stricture bindings if they did. And even if they did manage to get away from them, they wouldn't get past the other two or the guards at the entrance. With this all in mind, Nami reluctantly bowed her head with a sigh and brings up her hands submissively. Luffy adjusted two long pieces of rope on his shoulder before carrying the third in his hand and grasping Nami's wrists. In no time at all, he had wrapped the ropes around her wrists multiple times, synched them in the middle, knotted and pulled the rope to tighten it. Nami's wrists were strictly tied together in front of her. There was still quite a long strand of rope left though which Luffy tugs a little to test it. It was no doubt to use to guide her wherever he pleased, forcefully if necessary. With the Orange haired Dancer's hands done, Luffy turned to the other two. "Who's next?" The remaining two looked at each other hesitantly, and Vivi reluctantly stepped forward, her hands offered. Soon enough, Vivi and Nojiko were soon tied the same way. They only prayed that this moment of submission would not lead them to an inescapable end.

S

By the time the girls were properly secure, the sun was barely visible on the horizon, casting a faint shadow on the dusty plains. Although Nami hated to admit it, the view from the citadel did look beautiful as the falling son was perfectly framed in the garden between two trees.

"Alright then" Luffy suddenly said, attracting the attention of the three girls "it'd be best if we got going. Come on" Gently, he tugged on the rope attached to the girl's and Nami, Nojiko and Vivi were forced to follow. To say that Nami was a little confused at this point would be a huge understatement. She had absolutely no idea what was going on. One second, she was being taken hostage and the next, she was a prisoner. The motives for why they were being kept at the citadel (or the fact that they were being kept alive at all) still baffled her. What was their purpose here? Why were they being kept as prisoners? And just where were they and who were their captors? All that Nami knew was that they definitely weren't scholars. Scholars didn't walk around killing and kidnapping people...at least as far as she knew...So far, she was just perplexed by the situation.

P

The three Dancers obediently follow as Luffy walks out of the Garden with the rope attached to their wrists in hand. They kept at a reasonable pace as they walk through the Citadel. The girls eyes wonder as Luffy led them through the Temple, gazing in the interior of what could be said to be their new found prison. Nojiko looks back as she notices the two other men that was with their kidnapper follow them out the Garden entrance. The green haired one put his hood back up and then jumps down the lower floor. Nojiko's eyebrow rose at this. "He's in a hurry? Or do these guys don't like stairs?" She thought to herself. She then notices the other one following behind them. He gives her a curt wave and a smile but Nojiko just turns her head back harshly. Nami on the other hand were more concerned over their surroundings. They instantly began to feel a few eyes on them as they were led through. Trying not to make eye contact and hid whatever embarrassment and shame as they looked elsewhere. Vivi having taken a bit of a look at the entrance, the decorations and architecture of the large building they were in. Who knows how much time and effort must of taken to build such a palace like structure.

Luffy continued to walk them until he found himself in front of a specific room. "We're here." This caught all their attention as they were led through the large finely crafted wooden door and enter the room. It's pretty large size was the first thing that was noted. It was square shaped as expected but with plenty of space for pacing and storing. It was also rather dark at the moment though, so they couldn't properly see it in full detail. As they enter the room, Luffy drags them further inside until he reached a large piece of fabric on the wall. To their surprise they were revealed as large curtains as Luffy separate them, still a tight hold on the rope, and letting the remaining light pour through, letting the room illuminate to show it's true form. Their eyes widening as they notice the contents of the room, the walls had few decorations, some antic swords and shields hanging along with what appeared to be a map, a bookshelf on the left hand side (which appeared very dusty) and custom built in hammock that was hanging from the strong empty ceiling as well as a few containers like large chests and barrels on the floor, one of them possibly being where he kept whatever clothes he owned. There was also a desk that was sitting near the end where the curtains were drawn in front of, the desk containing different sorts of items... sharp ones at that. Nami did note some other items as well however, such as a few other weapons and ornaments and some sort of balls. The curtains themselves hid a plain glass looking window that apparently could be walked out of to get to the balcony outside. And through the window and the stoned balcony, was a clear view of the setting sun, as it slowly descended down towards the vast endless see, to be hidden behind the world that went beyond what could be seen.

S

"Do you like it?" Luffy asked, looking back at the girl's. They jumped suddenly under his gaze "well, do you like it?" Luffy repeated the question. For a moment, the group was nervous to say anything. Finally, Vivi spoke."...It's...good..." she said nervously. Luffy smiled at the reply. "Perfect. I wouldn't want you living somewhere you didn't feel comfortable being"

"LIVE SOMEWHERE?" Nami asked, turning to Luffy with wide eyes. The scholar nodded.

"Yes. You will sleep here" Luffy explained "in order for me to keep a closer eye on you..." Noticing the girl's nervous glances, he started laughing a little "Don't worry. As long as you do not cause me any problems, your stay should be painless" Luffy reassured the girls before tying the end of the rope, tightly around his wrist "Just remember, you don't touch my stuff without permission, you don't snore and if I hear one comment of complaint, I'll hang you from the balcony. Understand?" Of course, this was an empty threat but the girl's quickly fell in line, nodding in acceptance. Luffy smiled at them before he hopped into his hammock, picking up a piece of wood off the desk as he passed it. From there, Luffy flicked his hidden blade on and gently began to chip away at the piece of wood, shaping it.

"How long are we staying here for?" Nami suddenly asked. She knew the question was foolish but she at least wanted to know how reasonable or unreasonable their new jailer was."...I don't know" Luffy replied, not looking at her as he flicked a little off the left hand corner of the piece of wood.

"I'm guessing long enough so Dad can make a final decision on what to do with you" Luffy then realised that the girl's were still all standing up in the room "well don't be shy, take a seat" he encouraged "Ace said he'd go get some blankets and things for you, so in the meantime, make yourselves at home..." Nami couldn't believe what she had just been told. She was to make herself at home? SHE WAS ROOMING WITH A MURDERER WITH DADDY ISSUES!

P

Nami narrowed her eyes before scoffing lightly. "Having our hands tied doesn't exactly make the place homely." Nami muttered before easing herself on the ground with her hands still tied in front of her. Luffy, however, just turned his head slightly to look at her. "You know, it's harder and less appealing to eat with your hands tied behind your back." Luffy told them before returning to his crafting. Vivi perked up at this.

"Food?"

"Yeah, you've drank a little but you three must be starving by now. Ace is coming up to give you food along with some other stuff. Meanwhile I advise you to sit quietly like good little girls." Vivi fell silent for a moment at this. They had known, but through the stress, the fear and anxiety, not to mention the other pains they had received aside from the rumbling their stomach made, they had completely ignored and eventually forgotten that they were absolutely starved. As if on queue, their stomachs started to quietly rumble through lack of nourishment. As a Dancing Girl, it was customary, expected and well appreciated that they were skinny and curvy looking as well as having an overall appealing body. Even skinny woman needed to eat regularly though to keep alive and healthy. A while later, Luffy's door was once again opened.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." Ace apologised as he kicks himself in. The girls looked up to him to see that he was carrying another sack as well as a large carpet and something else on his other side...

S

"My fine ladies, Ace the master chef has prepared you this gourmet meal of...bread, bread and more bread" Ace said, pulling out three small rolls and handing them off to the girls. Then, he tossed a fourth to Luffy. The assassin, stuck out his right hand, which he had been using to carve the wood and brought the hidden blade back in, allowing him to catch the roll in his open palm. Luffy took a cautious bite of the bread and chewed it in his mouth for a while. The dancer girls, fearing to touch their own rolls, watched and waited for Luffy's verdict.

"Well..." Luffy finally said, swallowing the remainder of the roll "it didn't taste like cow dung so that's a plus"

"Such sugar coated comments..." Ace retorted with a growl. Luffy chuckled, taking a second bite of the bread roll. Noticing him do this, the other girls now began to eat, making up for lost time. Ace smiled, noticing the girl's eating and folded his arms proudly.

"See? At least someone enjoys my cooking..." he commented, winking at Nojiko. The blue haired woman proceeded to glare at Ace, before she looked away. Ace gave a whistle as she turned away.

"That's harsh! Giving me the cold shoulder? I'm hurt" he said with a grin "then again...I like girls who play hard to..."

"Ace, don't you have somewhere to be?" Luffy suddenly asked, noticing Nojiko's uncomfortable shudder. Ace raised his hands upwards and shook his head.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving!" Ace replied, dropping the bag on the floor and the carpet before turning to the exit "Dragon wants me to go down into the town to deal with some bandits who are making trouble at Makino's"

"Tell Makino I said hi" Luffy yelled, quickly biting the last of the roll out of his fingers.

"Don't worry, I will..." Ace called back, as his footsteps echoed along the hallway.

P

As Ace left Nami looked over at Nojiko.

"You alright?" She whispered. Nojiko turned to her with a quick nod.

"I could be worse. Now let's see what he left us." Nami watches as Nojiko goes to roll out the carpet and open up the bag. She breathily looks back down at her bitten piece of bread, staring at it contently before sighing. "And just when we were getting used to 'real' food." Nami mutters before taking another bite.

* * *

><p>It was dark. Stars twinkled high in the sky at the black cold space above of Alabasta, with a bright crescent moon illuminating the night as it naturally reflects the light of the sun. It was freezing at this time, and was when most chose to settle in, to rest up as they waited for the new next day to arrive from the East and shine upon them again with its glaring harsh heat of the sun.<p>

But up on the roof tops, someone was running as the figure hops from one building to the next. This figure happened to be a man wearing a white hooded robe, hiding both his three swords and green hair as he ran on the rocky houses that people lived in. Zoro figured that since it was so thick, anyone already asleep or trying to wouldn't hear his hurried foot steps. Suddenly Zoro dropped down from one of them, landing inside a haystack at the bottom and hiding inside it. Positioning himself to look upward, he tried to spot for any signs of movement as he laid in there. When none came, Zoro got out and headed quietly away from the small allay he had jumped into.

"Better find somewhere to hide." Zoro thought to himself. After a bit of walking and wondering about, Zoro eventually found himself on a ledge of a cliff with a huge tree rooted near the edge. Smiling, Zoro decides that he would rest here, hoping no one would find him in this serene environment in the dark of the night.

Then suddenly a noose sprung up from the ground, pulling both his feet together and hanging him up side down from the tree he was about to rest under.

S

"Well...this is inconvenient..." Zoro complained with a scowl.

"You don't like what I've done Zoro?" a voice suddenly asked from above him in the tree "A shame, I made it especially for you..." Zoro didn't even bother to look up at the voice. Nor did he look up when he felt the jerk on the rope. Soon, Robin appeared in front of him, having climbed down the rope, so she was now hanging upside down like Zoro. Her dark raven hair hung down low to the ground and her deep blue sapphire eyes gazed straight into Zoro's very soul. Though the green haired man would never admit it, he was always amazed at how much strength Robin had. Even now, hanging upside whilst she used her leg's firm grip on the rope to avoid slipping down any further or falling was a tremendous feat.

"Must we always keep meeting like this?" Zoro asked with a smile. Robin laughed at the remark and leaned in closer until her lips were an inch from Zoro's.

"If you keep making it this easy, then yes..."

"You talk too much..." Zoro suddenly interrupted her, leaning forwards slightly, gently pressing his lips to her. He had missed this. Not the being captured of course...but just being here with Robin. It was all he ever wanted...Of course, Robin was always the playful sort and as he leaned in to deepen the kiss, she pulled away with a smile.

"You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" she said with a smile, before letting her legs go from the rope. As she hit the floor, however, Robin gracefully rolled back to her feet with barely a scratch on her.

"I would have liked it to be" Zoro admitted with a sigh "but now, I'll have to get this done the hard way..."

P

Robin turned around with a pleasant playful smile on her, eyeing Zoro as he began to lean up to cut the rope that was keeping him in the air. Robin's grin grew. She suddenly revealed a throwing knife and used it to cut the rope at a distance, progressing faster than Zoro's own attempt to reach the rope, it cut right through and causes him to fall on the ground. Robin was suddenly on top of him as she takes out another length of rope and quickly uses it to tie Zoro's hands together behind him in his daze.

"Now now..." Robin whispered as she forced him to sit up. "Wait your turn; I want to pay you back for the night you left me, all alone before you settled off on that mission." Robin said as she begins to wrap another length of rope around his arms and chest. Zoro grunted at this as his body starts to become tighter and less mobile as Robin began to restrain him further.

"Enjoy yourself while you can, I'll get you for this Woman." Zoro warned as he attempts to narrows his dark eyes directly at the Female Assassin behind. Giving a hard tug on the ropes to tighten them and finishes knotting them off out of Zoro's reach, Robin slowly shifted herself around the man, before taking a hold of his head and forcing him to look at her in the eyes once again.

"Oh don't worry, I will." And with that said, Zoro was silenced as she kissed the man with all the pent up passion she had been keeping.

* * *

><p>Nami sighed for what she could have guessed to be the hundredth time. The three Dancers had set out the carpet to lie on as they prepared to sleep for the night. They were exhausted after everything that had happened after all, and they were all glad they would at least have some sense of comfort as they laid out the blankets to sleep under and drift off to the wonderful land of sleepy dreams...Their Captor had a condition though. And Nami lay there awake, with the blanket over her, once again restrained along with her Sister and friend. He had tied them similarly to last time, unbinding their wrists only to tie them again behind their back, tying their arms to their torso wrapping rope above and below their chest and tying together their ankles, but keeping the rest of their legs in check. He had also once again stuffed their mouths and covered it with a triangularly folded piece of cloth that covered up to her nose and hanged down from her chin, tied over the back of her hair. The most noticeable change though, despite it being less strict than last time, was the long pieces of rope that hanged loose from their back that seemed to come from their wrist as he tugged it, which he tied to his wrist. After all this he had tucked them in and went to lay in his hammock, ignoring all complaints they might have had. Vivi and Nojiko had eventually fallen asleep though, likely having adjusted the feeling of lying while tied. Nami was still just lying on the ground though, tired but awake.<p>

S

Nami wasn't really sure why she couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the fact she was in a new area, maybe it was because she wasn't in the mood to sleep...or just perhaps, it was because SHE'D BEEN KIDNAPPED, TIED UP AND HER KIDNAPPER WAS CURRENTLY RELAXING ON A HAMMOCK NEARBY, CHIPPING AWAY AT A SMALL PIECE OF WOOD!

"Can't sleep?" the man suddenly asked, his eyes not even looking towards her. Nami wasn't sure whether to feel offended or to be impressed with the man's perceptive skills. Nami attempted to speak, but quickly remembered her mouth was covered, so she shook her head. The hooded man caught the denial from the corner of his eye and returned to his carving.

"Cold?" he asked suddenly. Nami shook her head and tried to pull the blankets tighter, ignoring the shiver up her spine as she did so. She wasn't going to give this man the satisfactory of watching her squirm. "Warm?" he suggested. Nami shook her head once more.

"Are you..." the scholar began, only for him to notice Nami was glaring at him. In hindsight, Luffy realised it was quite silly trying to have a conversation with a gagged girl but he was bored and sleep failed to reach him, so he had decided to try and make some conversation. Whether or not the girl wanted to speak, Luffy soon decided that if the two were going to be getting along, he'd need to start gaining her trust...of course, that would require showing her trust as well...

P

At this thought, Luffy inspected his current progress on the sculpture, and then looked back at the orange haired Dancer. She had turned back away from him but was now seemed to have dishevelled her blanket a bit and was trying to cover herself with it again. Taking another look at the sculpture, he silently got out of his hammock and walks over to the bound girl on the ground, making sure not to stand on the ropes connected between his wrist and the Women's wrists. Nami felt odd, as if she was being watched, but quickly surmised it was just the man eyeing her for whatever reason. She, however, stiffens rigidly as she feels a hand touching her neck. The hand then sweeps away the loose strands of hair too her back and then getting it out of her face. She turned her head further away at this. She then felt her blanket being lifted off of her and being pulled further up here body. It was apparent that he was tucking her in again. She felt like a helpless child, who had just messed up their covers and was being fixed, a thought that she found utterly embarrassing. Luffy smiled as he looked down at the smugly blanket covered girl as the large cloth leaned and folded into her laying body.

"Better?" he finally asked, quietly but cheerful. Nami hesitated responding for a couple of moments. She wasn't exactly in the position or mood to show gratitude to having an extra length of material covering her. Though she was feeling warmer...

Luffy stared at her for a small while longer before asking another question.

"Are you comfortable?" Nami naturally huffed at the question, a clearly oddball exhale of air coming out of her nose, resembling a snort, before she silently began to breathe through it again.

"What does he think? I'm on the floor, tied up and unable to speak and even help myself!" Nami thought to herself angrily, furrowing her eyebrows and glaring into space. Luffy gave a small sigh at this. He supposed it was a stupid enough question. "... Do you want to talk?"

S

Nami's only reply was that she rolled her eyes. Luffy, however, took the sign as a yes and got out of his hammock, placing the piece of wood, which now resembled a cylinder of sorts because of how long he had been chipping away at it.

"Alright then...just don't do anything sudden..." he warned as he gently rolled her over, reached down towards where the gag was tied. Despite her urge to bite his finger off when she had a chance, Nami decided against it. After all, he was finally being nice to her...relatively so at least and she didn't want to ruin that. As Luffy finished undoing her gag, Nami's eyes wandered to his hand and she noticed immediately that on his right hand, his ring finger was missing. Seeing it missing, Nami was filled with inquisition. In fact, the very moment Luffy had taken off her gag and she had spat out the stuffing in her mouth, it was the first question that came to her mind.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked as Luffy rolled her so she was once more lying on her back. Of course, the question was spoken a little harshly but, surprisingly, Luffy didn't seem irritated or enraged at the question and merely glanced at his missing finger, as if to say 'where did that go?'

"I lost it" he stated simply, returning to his hammock. He scooped up the wooden cylinder once again and began chipping away at it with his hidden blade once more. Noticing the unsatisfied confused look on Nami's face, Luffy decided to develop his answer "...I didn't lose it in a fight or an accident if that's what you were thinking""...Why?" Nami asked. "The same reason why people do most things in this life" Luffy replied casually, slicing one of the sides of the cylinder straight off "because I wanted to prove myself..." Nami quickly decided not to dig any deeper into this subject and instead, her gaze turned towards the object in Luffy's hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Carving" Luffy explained, digging his hidden blade into the cylinder one more time "I find it keeps the blade sharp and it's a little hobby I picked up"

"What are you making then?" Nami asked, tilting her head. For one of the first times, Nami noticed Luffy's lips twitch into a smile. Maybe the simple small talk was lowering the assassin's guard...

"I don't know" Luffy replied, looking at the deformed cylinder from all angles "I just kinda make it up a bit as I go along...it's just something I do to pass the time, when I'm bored, you know?"

P

"I see." Nami simply said in reply. She watched him from the floor, tucked away and wrapped in the blankets and lightly squishing her hands. She absentmindedly noticed the ropes that connected her to his wrist as he continues to use the blade hidden near the same place to slowly work his way through the wood. She was at the very least curious and decides to press on with the simple subject.

"Have you ever made anything good?" Luffy smiled a bit at this.

"Not really, maybe one or two things I felt were maybe worth keeping, but who knows, maybe this one will be special." He finished as he made a curved cut around the middle. There was another silence as Nami acknowledged Luffy's answer. For a while, she continued to watch him work. She honestly had nothing better to do... Luffy then turned to her again. "So, comfortable now?" Nami narrowed her eyes at this question.

"I'd be better if you just untied me." Nami said in annoyance. "It's not like I could get far anyway." Luffy nods at this.

"True, but I'm responsible for you, and I can't have you wondering around without my supervision. I can't trust you to stay in my room or try to take my life while I sleep." Luffy explained, doubting she could or would kill him but still pointing out reasons to keep her like that (especially with a couple of sharp objects in the room).

"... So why'd you gag us, it's not like we could call for help..." Nami pointed out at the logic of having her freedom of speech taken away.

"To keep you all nice and quiet, encase you feel the need to disturb me or anyone near by sleep." Luffy said with a grin, feeling he didn't need to give her the idea of using her teeth as a possible means of loosening her friends own restraints.

S

"I suppose when you put it that way..." Nami mumbled, looking away from Luffy with a sigh. Luffy noticed the disappointment Nami had at being accused of such tactics but he chose to say nothing. Once more, the wood felt the edge of his blade...

"Where are we?" Nami suddenly asked.

"In my room" Luffy clarified.

"No, I mean, what city are we in? What town are we in?"

"If I wanted you to know that, I wouldn't have blindfolded you now would I?" Luffy answered, turning to Nami with an almost mocking grin. Nami was irritated at Luffy's smugness and chose to find a different subject.

"Then...can you tell me what you are?" she questioned.

"I'm a human being" Luffy replied calmly. Nami, however, was not impressed at the answer and glared at her captor.

"You know what I mean" she grumbled "You dress in white robes but you're definitely not a scholar, so what are you?"

"I'm an assassin" Luffy replied simply. The natural reply made Nami jump a bit and she began to sweat as she watched Luffy's hidden blade once more carve into the wood "Relax" Luffy suddenly said, noticing how tense the situation had gotten "If I truly wanted to kill you, you'd be already dead, wouldn't you?" Nami nodded in agreement at the logic, but the tension still didn't change "What about you?" Luffy asked in return.

"What am I? I thought that'd be obvious" Nami retorted, gesturing to her clothes.

"No, I mean, who are you?" Luffy quickly corrected himself and he turned to look Nami in the eye "I don't think I ever caught your name..."

"True gentlemen should introduce themselves before asking for the name of a lady" Nami replied, flicking her hair as best she could as she moved her head. Instead of doing as Nami had suggested though, Luffy burst into laughter.

"You're tied up lying on my bedroom floor after I kidnapped you. I think we threw chivalry out the door a while ago..." he said with a chuckle, however, he eventually did calm down enough to speak some more

"...Luffy. My name's Luffy"

"Mine's Nami..." the reluctant dancer revealed. Luffy smiled.

"Pleased to meet you Nami"

P

"Under better circumstances, I would agree." Nami replied, wiggling around on the floor a bit as if to make her point. Luffy grinned at this in amusement.

"Just be thankful your alive and that I went a bit easier on you. If you behave yourselves I may give you a bit more leverage, but your all under my care and watchful eye" Nami was silent for a moment.

"... Are we required to provide our new 'Master' service?" Luffy noted how she said 'Master' in an oozing sarcastic tone. No doubt she was still disgusted with the idea of being anyone's Slave, which she seemed to have expected her captivity was earlier. In truth though, he was just to make sure they don't run off to cause trouble for them. They were his Prisoners.

"...The only thing I could think of is maybe Dancing for me." Luffy said, causing Nami to look at him with a cynical stare. Luffy shrugged. "Besides that, I need to take care of you. Your job is to really just stay in this room and follow my rules and genuinely don't give me trouble... but" Nami stared up at him with a quizzical look, curiously wondering what he was going to say next. "If you need me to do something, you know, besides letting you go and not restraining you as I please..." Nami huffed at this. They were the two main things she wanted right now. "Anyway, if you need to wash your cloths, take a bath, and other requests that would make your stay a bit more appealing, you just need to ask me and I'll see what I can do."

S

Nami paused in thought for a moment in thought when suddenly; a rather foul smell hit her nostrils she hadn't noticed before. She considered it to be the room before she soon deduced that the smell was, in fact, coming from her. After all, being kept tied up in a sack for a whole day whilst travelling through the desert was going to make you sweat quite a bit.

"...A bath?" Nami asked "I think I might take you up on that"

"Do you want one now?" Luffy asked.

"...Is it possible?" Nami replied "or is there some sort of curfew here?"

"No. I think it'd be best to go now anyway, seeing as how most people will be asleep" Luffy said, moving the curtain so he could look out the window up at the sky high above "...do you want to go have a bath then?"

"I suppose..." Nami mumbled, sniffing her unpleasant aroma once more.

"Alright then" Luffy said, slowly getting out of the hammock "I'll take you to the Hot Springs then..."

"Hot springs?" Nami asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yeah" Luffy replied with a nod "they're located in a cave underneath the citadel. I think that should suffice, don't you?"

P

Nami sat up and waited for her Captor Luffy to prepare for their trip to the hot spring. Rather than waking up the other girls, he decided to tie the end of the ropes to a secure spot in his room before going to Nami. He untied her ankles and helped her to her feet, her upper body still tied.

"Okay, let's go." Luffy whispered to her, giving her a gentle push.

"What about my clothes?" Nami asked stopping abruptly.

"Don't worry about that. To be honest, I rather not try to clean your cloths, there pretty expensive looking. I'll have someone else clean them for you. We'll find something else for you to wear before your done bathing." Luffy explained to her before once again giving her a push. Nami nodded and allowed Luffy to guide her out of his room. He gently opened and closed the door behind her before taking a moment to lock it

"... What about..."

"Your friends?" Luffy asked. Nami nodded, clear concern in her eyes. "They'll be fine fast asleep. I rather not wake them, but I don't want to be gone too long, just in case. Let's go." Nami nodded again and allowed him to take her further. Nami's footwear consisted of healed sandals that she could easily walk in as Luffy gently pushed her forward. She was still wearing her coat and scarf over her dancer cloths, meaning she would have to be untied before taking it off anyway, but this kept her reasonably warm through the night air. They walked down the corridors of the huge building, passing by doors and ornaments until they reached a couple of stairs which Luffy helped her down on until, eventually, they came to the bottom floor where the gate was.

S

From there, the two took a right turn, away from the main gate. This confused Nami at first but, noticing this, Luffy smiled at her.

"There are some catacombs leading down there. It'll be quicker than taking the other route"

"So...it's an underground hot spring?" Nami asked. Luffy nodded to Nami's surprise.

"Yeah. You see, the Dawn Temple has been standing for several decades, over a century if I'm correct. At first, they tried building across on the ground floor, seeing as that was simple. Then, when there was no more room, they built upwards. Soon, though, the citadel became too large and so, some bright spark had an idea. Instead of building upwards and outwards, we built corridors downwards leading to all sorts of things like obstacle courses and storage rooms. Whilst digging, they came upon a hot spring and now, it's our main source of hot water for the whole temple"

"You know a lot about this place, don't you?" Nami asked, glancing back at the assassin.

"I've lived here for most of my life, so I've picked up quite a few bits of knowledge on the way" Luffy mumbled sheepishly, before he grabbed Nami's shoulder. Confused, Nami turned around and realised that she had almost stumbled down the stairs "watch your step" Luffy said reassuringly, before giving her shoulder a pat, signalling she was to continue.

P

Giving out a small breath, Nami continued to walk carefully down the stairs that she was led to. From there on as they went deeper and deeper underground, it began to become darker and damper. Never the less though, Nami was pushed forward, her heels lightly clicking on the surprisingly well crafted rock that worked as a path down to the hot spring. Nami's eyes slowly adjusted as she began to look around. They mainly went through man made corridors and stairs that were carved into the cave as they descended lower and lower into the unknown. Nami absentmindedly wondered whether he had any alternative motives for bringing her down there, but figured she was just being slightly paranoid, for she also feared that there were some strange creatures living down there... creatures that may be too keen to get a hold of her.

Shaking her head though she ignored these thoughts as she allowed herself to be pushed deeper and deeper, until at last they had entered another room, and Nami felt the cold outside wind. It was a huge open area with a high spherical ceiling that was mostly empty. The first thing Nami noticed was the feeling of fresh air and the smell of hot steaming water. Looking ahead her eyes widen as she witnessed various large geysers with steam coming out of them. Between them all those was what appeared to be a underground pond that even had a waterfall filling it invitingly for a nice relaxing swim. As she inspected the place some more, she noticed a light coming from the ceiling. There was a large hole that revealed a piece of the night sky as it shined down on this peaceful heaven.

S

There had been few times when Nami had been speechless. But now, standing in front of this amazing sight, she couldn't find the right word to express how she was feeling.

"Looks good, doesn't it?" Luffy asked with a smile as he stretched "say what you want about the founders but they sure did know how to make some gorgeous architecture, didn't they?"

"I guess..." Nami finally managed to say with her dry lips.

"What are you waiting for then?" Luffy asked, looking at her as if she was being quite foolish "jump in and enjoy yourself" Nami only replied by clearing her throat and looking down at her bonds. Luffy quickly realised what she was getting at and sighed

"Alright then, I suppose you can't bathe properly being tied up like that...don't do anything rash though…" Luffy was interrupted as his hidden blade flashed out for an instant, only to return just as quickly "understand?" Nami nodded. She knew the terms of her imprisonment already and she was getting annoyed that once more, Luffy had found the nerve to repeat it. Luffy carefully stepped closer to Nami and she felt his calm breath on her back. Then, Luffy set to work untying her hands. Nami wore a bored expression as Luffy skilfully loosened the knots around her. She gave a sharp sigh of relief as he removed the ropes that had once been around her chest. Nami stretched as Luffy flung the ropes in a corner near the rocks. Respectfully, Luffy then leaned against the wall, looking away from Nami. Of course, this did not mean his guard dropped for an instant. After all, the dancer was free now and Luffy had remembered how much his interest in this woman had almost cost him last time. Ace certainly wasn't going to forget anytime soon...

P

With his back turned Nami once again grew tempted to plan an escape, but instantly dismissed the thought. She knew from her short experience with this man that he was not going to let her get away. She was, however, grateful he was respectful enough to turn away from her before she bathed. With one more contempt breath Nami took off her coat and unravelled her scarf from her neck to once again fully reveal her expensive alluring dancer clothing. Placing her coat down, she then began to fully undress, starting with the designed sleeveless jacket, sliding it down her elegant arms and folding it on her coat neatly.

Luffy listened to her as she started to strip behind him. He waited patiently for her. The thought of turning around too early to steal a glance at her naked form, however, did not cross his mind, a fact that would probably shock most people, especially with the gorgeous beautiful 'Jinn' behind him, slowly revealing to the world her full nude form that men would drool over and women would envy. Luffy, however, kept looking at the wall, merely listening for any unusual sounds such as footsteps walking towards him, or sneaking/running away from him. He didn't even witness the young woman taking off the last of her clothing and placing it neatly with the rest before walking forward.

The night air stung her skin. Without her clothing her body was now fully exposed to the cold air of the night, with no source of warmth besides the natural heat the body produced, the hair on her body mostly found flowing with the small wind on her head, the movement she made as she hugged herself and rubbed her arms, and of course, the hot steaming water, just sitting there, waiting for someone to enter and experience it's natural wonder. Nami lightly dipped her foot into it to test the temperature, a violent chill travelling through her body as the hot water is absorbed into her body and contrasted with the coldness. Hesitantly, Nami slowly places her toe back in. Then aloud more of her foot into it, climbing in carefully as she dips her leg into it, and then her legs until her entire lower body descends into the water. Nami sat there and the bottom of the geyser with her chest now covered, leaning back a little to let the warmth embrace her.

S

Nami gave a sigh of pleasure, revelling in the heat of the pool.

"Is it okay?" Nami's head snapped round. True to form, Luffy had not turned around. Instead, he was now sitting by a nearby rock, once more filing at the wooden object, which had changed dramatically since its first incarnation.

"...Y-yeah" Nami replied, modesty over coming her as she sunk deeper into the pool. Still, Luffy didn't move from his spot. Nami wasn't sure whether to be insulted because he wasn't looking at her or grateful and she hung on the fence on that decision for quite a while, before a question came to mind.

"You...you said you were an assassin right?"

"Yep"

"So...you've killed people...people before Daz?"

"I believe that job would be entailed in the definition of an 'Assassin'" Luffy mumbled, chipping away at the base of the wooden object. Nami wasn't pleased by the man's sarcasm but never the less continued her questioning.

"How many people have you actually killed?"

"I honestly don't know" Luffy replied calmly "I should try keeping a tally or something" Nami glanced round at Luffy, as if she had just realised that he had two heads. Her eyes were full of shock at the statement. A tally? Was murder just a game for these people? Nami quickly folded away her next question (She was going to inquire why he was an assassin and why he killed people). Now, however, Luffy spoke up.

"Okay then, I've answered your questions...now you're going to answer some of mine okay?" and before waiting for her to reply, Luffy dived straight into his thoughts "who are those girls you're with?"

P

Nami looked at him for a few seconds, before narrowing her eyes at him as she fully registered the question asked. "Why, if I may, would you want to know that?"

"So I don't have to say, 'Hey, you' every time I call to them." Luffy replied simply, finding the answer obvious. Nami relented to this answer, easily acknowledging the truth in his words.

"... The shorter haired one is named Nojiko, and the longer haired one is called Vivi." Nami told him, waiting for his reply.

"Nice names, I better remember them." Luffy commented as he chucked another piece off of the wood. "...So, is it just the three of you?" Nami thought about this question for a moment. She contemplated telling him, but then a sly smile forms on her lips as a idea pops in her head.

"Actually no." Nami confirmed to him. She kept her eyes intently on her kidnapper, noticing how he subtly halts in his cutting but swiftly continues.

"Oh?"

Nami wondered if that subtle pause he made was just her imagination or she was just over analyzing his reactions, but she took this as a sign and began again.

"Yeah, my Mother is a city guard. She was expecting us home but she's likely looking for us right now." Nami paused as she watched Luffy, but as he continued to just carve at the wooden figure, she continued.

"She's probably realized by now that we've been adducted. And knowing her, she'll have investigated the city and tracked us down. Come to think of it, she may even find where this place is."

S

Instead of being terrified, however, Luffy started laughing loudly. The laughter was so boisterous it gave Nami the chills.

"I'd love her to come and try it" he said once his laughter had faded "No offence to your mother's skill but I hardly doubt she can successfully assault or break into this place. A part of me would like to see her try...though most of me is just full of pity if she would. She wouldn't make it in here alive...in fact, she could even bring and army and it still wouldn't work" the cold tone in which Luffy spoke those words made Nami shudder. He wasn't trying to scare her or threaten her. He was merely stating the facts. Her bluff had fallen through instantly. This man seemed to have no fear...

P

"... You seem confident." Nami muttered with a soft frown. Luffy chuckled a bit again, before replying in a confident tone.

"We're not a force to be trifled with." Luffy makes another cut to the wooden sculpture before finally turning to face her, much to Nami's mild surprise. "Even if we didn't square off our enemies first and even if they managed to break in far enough to truly threaten our lives, we would fight back without hesitation or regret." Luffy said with a wicked smile. Nami gulped at his expression, a cold sweat running down her face despite the hot water she was in.

"We don't fear death, we're not afraid to die, and be sure to know that we won't give up without a fight. Hell, we wouldn't give up even with a fight, we stand our ground to the very end to defend our home and protect all the people in it." Nami's eyes widened at this. She was honestly impressed and touched on both the honesty in his words and the resolve to go through with that, even risking his life...

She then glares at him however. Why? Well she just remembered the main point of the conversation.

"Just to keep a few prisoners?" Nami yelled angrily. Luffy laughed a bit at this.

"Oh no, you'd either be dead or hidden. For all they know, you all would either be somewhere else or already dead." Luffy explained

S

"But what's so important about us?" Nami persisted, turning fully around Luffy, modesty abandoning her in her moment of anger "why did you take us hostage? Just because we were witnesses?"

"Because you were innocent" Luffy explained, placing the wooden object onto the floor.

"So because we were innocent you kidnapped us?" Nami asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Because you're innocent I SAVED YOUR LIFE" Luffy replied, turning around for the first time, looking Nami straight in the eye "Do you realise that I could have killed you anytime now? Whilst we were in the cellar, when you were in the sack, even now, I could just reach over there and slit your throat!" Nami shivered at this, but as a sign of peace, Luffy folded his palm and his blade retracted.

"But I'm not going to" the assassin said simply "I admit that I'm a killer and I admit that I haven't had the most honest of lives, but I'm not just a ball of anarchy and death. I have rules and people I want to protect and so I'm going to protect them no matter what...even if it means doing reckless and impulsive things like this" Luffy finished his rant and suddenly, the air became silent.

"What sort of rules?" Nami inquired at last in a hesitant. Luffy, however, looked away at the question.

"I...I should get you some clothes..." he announced, standing up and then glaring at her "Remain here. Don't make me come looking for you..."

P

Nami watched him walk away, leaving her alone unsupervised or restrained for the first time since she met him...

Of course, Vivi and Nojiko were still tied up in the man's room; she hardly knew where she was and was completely soaked and naked. With a sigh, Nami just relaxed herself into the water again. She sat there, staring at the ceiling for a few more minutes before finally taking a deep breath and submerging under the water. Her entire body was now enveloped inside the hot water, soaking her face and hair as she kept her eyes and mouth closed. After a few moments, she came back up taking a breath of the fresh air. Her now wet long orange hair stuck to her body and face and she proceeded to brush it off, allowing the remaining water to drain off her eyes before opening them again to stare back up at the night sky through the hole.

"What are we going to do?" She muttered as she closes her eyes again, once again finding herself thinking over her captor's words and actions.

Meanwhile, Luffy was walking down the underground corridor to find something to allow Nami to dry herself with and wear in replace of her dancer outfit. While Assassin's mostly consisted of men as far as Luffy knew, they were nonbiased to women and allowed them to join if they prove themselves and were provided for like all the Brotherhood. With that in mind as Luffy went into a cellar, Luffy hoped to find something that would be appropriate enough for the young woman, or at the very least something that fit. After some searching, Luffy found a set of cloths that he thought might be her size. After all, she was about his height, if skinnier and obviously with a larger chest. Luffy put a red gown that he thought might work to his chest, trying to estimate if this might suit her and also noting the various cloths that could be use as a sash and a veil.

S

Luffy briefly checked the gown, fiddling with it to see if it was the correct size. Finally, he nodded in satisfaction but, before he left, he grabbed two other nightgowns of similar size as well, just in case the first one didn't fit and a towel, which Nami could use to dry herself with. After all, he was judging from what he had seen and only making estimates...But what Nami said had gotten to him...

Technically, it was what he had stated about rules but it was still something that annoyed him. He was a murderer. He did kill, not for pleasure but because it was a necessary evil, kill a cruel and corrupt tyrant, save a thousand of his subjects from pain. He had rules and he had standards and guidelines...but where had these guidelines gotten him? When had this personal feeling of honour ever helped him? The answer was simple. It hadn't and now he was stuck guarding three insignificant dancers simply because he refused to kill them and the dilemma of whether upholding his moral code in this situation was the right thing to do was something that was tearing him apart. Usually, the answer would have been yes, he was doing the right thing...but now, he wasn't so sure if these witnesses were worth the trouble of protecting. Doubt lingered in Luffy's mind until he once more reached the door to the hot springs. Cautiously, he placed his hand on the door handle and turned it...

P

Bursting out of his morbid thoughts, Luffy looked to see that the very exotic woman on his mind had done what she was told and had not gone anywhere. Nami looked to see who had entered, finding that it was indeed Luffy. She then tried to look at what he had with him. Luffy walked closer to the geyser, stopping when he made it to her still folded up dancing attire on the ground.

"I brought you some cloths and something to dry yourself with. I'll leave it here and take these." Luffy said, putting down the fabrics before picking up the cloths he first saw her in. Nami nodded at this.

"Yeah, I'll be done soon." she confirmed as she continues to sit and bathe herself. Luffy watched her for a moment before turning, placing her clothes neatly in the bag he taken with him and sitting back down to work on the wooden sculpture. He waited and waited, until he finally heard the sound of something rising from the water. Then came repeated dripping in rapid succession and the soft footsteps of feet on the stone floor. Once again he didn't even turn around, even when he was a little more tempted this time do to his uneasy thoughts. He no longer wanted to talk, especially not while she was drying herself.

Taking a small breath, Luffy continued to keep his guard up for any possible, if unlikely attack. He listened as Nami began to rub herself rapidly as she attempts to dry herself. All the while, though still uneasy, Nami was smiling quite brightly. She was now clean and refreshed and felt like she had been reborn from the essence of the water having soaked her and drifted away. Of course drying oneself after getting wet was always a tedious task, especially if you had hair which took more time and effort to dry. Though the only hair Nami need be concerned with was the wavy long hair hanging on her head.

S

Slowly, she rubbed the towel against her head in an attempt to dry her long flowing locks. Luffy was silent as she did this, chipping calmly away at the sculpture diligently. Nami was slightly irritated by the noise but, seeing the reaction Luffy had given her early, she decided it would be best to keep quiet on the subject...or any subject for that matter...

It took a few minutes before Luffy heard footsteps approaching him. Immediately, Luffy turned around, his hidden blade pointing threateningly at Nami's throat. As it had turned out, the red gown had in fact fitted the best and Nami was currently wearing it loosely, seeing as the sash she tied around her waist had not been tied as tight so that it would cover her entire body.

"...Suppose I shouldn't sneak up on you like that, huh?" Nami asked. Luffy didn't bother to reply, instead, he merely retracted the hidden blade and grabbed the rope bindings from the floor.

P

Nami looked at the ropes in his hands for a moment or two. She then sighed, slowly turning around and reluctantly placing her hands behind her back submissively. Luffy got to work, binding together her wrists before proceeding to wrap the rope around her chest. As he did so, he noted how more modest looking she was. The red gown covered almost her entire body. The golden yellow collar was cut to expose a lot of her neck but covered her entire chest, only hinting at the light bulge in front of her that they were indeed hiding under the cloths. Along with that it had long sleeves that almost reached her wrists and were very loose bell sleeves with a similar golden yellow at the hem and of course her legs were covered by the long ankle length skirt, the top tied closer to her waist by the lease tie of the yellow sash.

Luffy finished tying her up quickly and then prepared everything to leave. Without a word, Luffy pushed Nami lightly through the door to the underground passage, closing the door to the hot watery heaven behind them. The rest of the walk back up to Luffy's room was uncomfortably quiet. True to his word, Vivi and Nojiko were still okay. Nami observed them closely for a few moments to find the still quiet and peaceful rising and falling of their chests as they slept peacefully. Nami smiled at their peaceful slumber. Wondering what world they had entered to distract them away from the reality of their situation. Nami's thoughts were interrupted, however, as Luffy pushed her again, this time slightly harder and causing her to fall over a bit. Luffy gently placed her back down where she had been lying before all this started between them. Luffy was quick to tie her ankles together and grab something. The object appeared to her to be a new ball of cloth to stuff her mouth with. At this, Nami chose now to speak up and resist, moving her head away from his approaching hand.

"Oh come on!" Nami quietly hisses as she resists, "Can't we... talk... about this?"

S

"About what?" Luffy asked, his hand recoiling away from Nami.

"About...everything really..." Nami said "Look, I don't need to be gagged. I can keep quiet by myself. We may be your prisoners but if I promise not to make your job any harder, then we should get along just fine right?" Luffy took a while to make his decision. His eyes lingered on Nami before he sighed.

"...One chance..." Luffy replied, placing the ball of cloth on the table nearby "but if you make any noise at all, I won't hesitate to do it again..." Nami nodded and Luffy returned to his hammock.

"...You said before that you weren't going to kill us because you have rules, right?" Nami suddenly called from her bed, Luffy turned around, his hand reaching for the gag and the cloth ball "What rules?" This girl asked too many questions...but, despite his better nature, Luffy actually replied.

"...I have my creed..."

"Your creed?"

"It is a set of rules created by the Founders of our order" Luffy explained "an attempt at keeping some level of morality for us killers" Luffy explained "the rules are interpreted by us as we see fit, so that 'Nothing is true' and 'Everything is permitted'...so I chose to follow my own creed and I chose not to kill you. You hadn't done anything wrong after all...in fact; you're in this circumstance because of me. I was supposed to kill Daz in a more discrete manner...but I let him provoke me and I started fighting him and...well, you know the rest..."

P

Nami narrowed her eyes. "So we're, against our will I may add, just because you screwed up?" Luffy's eye twitched at this. He was extremely tempted to just shove something into her mouth and keep her quiet after that statement. He resisted however. He did just admit it to her, and she was just clarifying it in a much harsher way.

"I did what I had to. I just could have done it better." Luffy stated as he turned his head away from her gaze. Nami sighed loudly at this.

"Some Assassin you are." Nami muttered. At this, Luffy once again reached out to the table to the two pieces of cloth he intended to keep her silent with. "So, how many more defenceless innocent women have you kidnapped to compensate for your incompetence? Happens often?" Nami continued, paying little mind on what he was doing. Luffy turned to face her. He looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, clearly displeased with this woman mocking his skills.

"I'll have you know this is the first time it's happened!" Luffy said to her angrily, but quietly so not to wake the other two in the room. "I'M the one who probably would be killed if this was a regular occurrence." He wasn't actually sure of the consequences of this happening even a second time, but after all the crap he'd gone through so far, he surmised he was definitely be in big trouble. Nami's eyes just drooped at this. They were looking at him about half open, as if indifferent to his quiet outburst.

"Oh gee, and we just happened to be the unlucky first to have seen you in action. Must be fate." Nami added sarcastically. It was then that Nami's mouth was stuffed with a shoved in ball of small fabric.

S

Immediately, Luffy worked on tying the gag, thought Nami struggled against him.

"Questioning is a privilege, not a right" Luffy growled, as he finished, leaving Nami to glare up at him with those angry eyes. Luffy gave her a glare back. Why was this becoming so difficult? In any other circumstance, getting spotted committing an assassination wasn't a problem. As long as you were able to escape afterwards and still get the blood on the feather to prove you had killed your target, all would have been well. Unfortunately, Luffy knew the true ramifications of what would happen if Crocodile had found out the Assassin's had murdered one of his close friends.

Currently, Rainbase and Windmill Village were allied but if Crocodile discovered of the crime, war would be upon them. Luffy had planned to hide Daz' body out of sight, either dropping it in the moat or in a haystack somewhere. Luckily, it appeared that the public view for Daz' death was that he had fallen from a window (which to be fair, he had) and had landed on a sharp object of some kind. The glass smashing was what had caused the cuts and scrapes. The only missing factor was Daz' severed hand and that was all that was needed for Crocodile to suspect treachery. Luffy leapt into his hammock and turned towards the wall angrily, hoping that the object of his frustrations would just disappear. It was his fault. He had been reckless...but THEY had secured his failure. The instant they saw him, his fate was sealed...Luffy was currently unaware of what fate had in store, however, and so, after a long wait, he passed into a restless sleep, haunted by nightmares...

* * *

><p><strong>ENDING MEMORY SESSION...WARNING: ATTEMPT AT INSERTING WITTY COMMENT INTO ENDING STATEMENT HAS FAILED. PROGRESSING ON WITH EXITING MEMORY SESSION...<strong>

**P: Well, that's it. We're on just about on our last amount of meterial already written to work with. Then we'll be keeping our readers waiting EVEN LONGER to write down new stuff for even more chapters worth 10000 words.**

**S: Yeah...the truth is that, unfortunately, everything that Polar and I haveposted in this time span has ACTUALLY been prewritten before hand...meaningthat the updates will probably slow down dramatically...**

**P: Hell, while I made a joke about publishing it, we didn't even originally even intend to post the story. But regarding how much pre-written material we have left, we might be able to scrounge up another chapter. After that, we're more or less writing the rest of it from scratch.**

**S: Strange how these things work out, isn't it?Anyway, we hoped you enjoyed this LONG ass chapter of One Piece of a Creed (and for those of you who want more action in the story, fear not, for the story will finally get rolling in the next chapter. This has all been build up to a hopefully well done pay off :D**

**P: I would say not to get them too excited, but who am I to contradict your words... on second thought, ignore that last , Advise and Criticism would be appreciated. I'm Bear D Polar and I hope you have enjoyed this. Later**

**S: And I'm that Shadowman who likes the number 6. See ya around!~**

**Thanks for reading.**


	4. Make A Move

**S: *pushes Polar out of the way before he can start the introduction* Hello readers, I'm Shadowonthewall6 and welcome one and all to chapter four of One Piece of a Creed! Polar, buddy, just look at all those 26 shiny reviews we've got now!**

**P: *...A hand shakily appears and pulls Polar back up. Right before turning ever so slowly to glare at Shadowon.* I didn't think you counted reviews... Anyway, after bickering over the title, I eventually managed to upload our last fully pre-written chapter to this collaboration...**

**S: Yeah, that's right. This is the last chapter we've already written before deciding to upload this...so, that means that the updating schedule is going to...slow down quite a bit *pull Polar in front of him to block the spear***

**P: ...Your aim sucks... you all know that, right..? *Collapses onto the floor***

**S: POLAR! NO! YOU FOOLS, THERE GOES MY HUMAN SHIELD...I mean my friend...anyway, without further ado, we should really get on with the chapter to see what will happen next...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or Assassin's Creed. They belong to Eiichiro Oda and Ubisoft.**

**ANIMUS STARTING. KEEP YOUR ARMS AND LEGS IN THE ANIMUS AT ALL TIMES. THANK YOU AND HAVE A NICE DAY.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Make A Move<strong>

_**P**_

The sun was rising from the distant East, slowly revealing itself from the other end of the world and bit by bit, shining its radiant light on everything below it, except for all the shadowy areas that were covered by obstacles and anything that wasn't transparent for the light to pierce through. It was at this light that was first noticed by the person lying on the ground, as it veiled over the person's body, warming it with its morning ray before heading to an exposed eyelid. This light and warmth was the first thing felt as that person slowly regains consciousness. The second thing that was noticed was that it was oddly hard to move, as well as the unusual tightness around the body. Wiggling around, the person found that the ankles were stuck together, and the wrists were tied from behind, and the arms were tied next to the torso. Grunting lightly, as the man licked a familiar fabric between his lips. Roronoa Zoro grunted once again through his cleave gag as he tries to remember what the hell had happened, where he was and why he was here. His eyebrows furrowed and his single eye scrunched as he felt something odd between his torso and legs. Wiggling around a bit, he found to his mild surprise that his trousers were undone and loosely left down his legs, exposing his private features with only his cloak to give some flimsy renascence of modesty. Zoro closed his eye at this.

"Oh, that's what happened."

"Hey, do you know where Master Zoro is?" Robin turned to the voice, who was directing the question at her. "I can't find him in his room."

Robin merely smiled sweetly at him, "Oh, you know Zoro. I'm sure he's a little too tied up in his sleep somewhere."

_**S**_

The guard nodded in response, completely missing the subtle undertones of the statement as he turned his gaze back to the city. Robin smiled slyly and then continued to walk inside across the long draw bridge. However, when she entered the citadel, she could hear a rather odd noise echoing from nearby. It sounded like a clanging of steel on steel right in the middle of the courtyard. Robin was quite confused by this and, factoring in that this was early in the morning, she felt even more curious at the source of the sound. Slowly, she walked around the corner, allowing her to get a better view of the training field. Surprisingly enough, she saw a man standing there. His assassin robes had been placed on a weapons rack nearby, whilst the man was wearing only a pair of black pants. Even his feet were bare. The dark haired man was equipped with two hidden blades and was currently attacking a suit of armour in the centre of the courtyard. He effectively strafed around it, striking on occasion, only to recoil from imaginary blows. It was clear by the marks on the man's naked chest that he had been doing this for some time.

"Couldn't sleep?" Robin called as she approached. Luffy ignored her, slashing his hidden blade across the suit of armour's chest, before roundhouse kicking the armour's helmet, only to have it come clean off the dummy and fly over to the other side of the training ground. Luffy gave a growl. The sole of his foot stung but it wasn't hurting as much as his pride...

_**P**_

Luffy turned around to face Robin, panting a little at the exertion but in no way exhausted. Robin was wearing a similar white cloak as his one under, what he guessed from his quick glance, to be a long ankle length gown that she wore from time to time instead of the standard pants that most Assassins' wore. It did nothing to hinder her movements though, as Luffy had seen her make acrobatic stunts while wearing it. How, he wasn't sure, though she would admit that they weren't as practical. Along with that though she had wrist guards, one with a hidden blade in it, and a black sash tied around her waist over her robe and whatever weapon she had she chose to conceal it as well as her hidden blade. Her hood was currently down, letting her long raven hair that was combed almost completely back to flow down behind her and reach about past her hips. Luffy sighed as he began to answer her.

"Oh, I slept, lousily. Woke up early though and figured I get some practice and food." Luffy explained. Robin nodded her head as she noted the dummy behind him. "I see, though I don't think food has been prepared just yet." At this Luffy leant down in a depressed manner.

"I know!" Robin chuckled at this reaction, bringing her hand up to slightly cover her mouth while she laughed.

"So, what has you up so early in the morning then?" She asked. She noted Luffy flinch a bit at this question. He leant up to look at Robin in the eyes.

"Oh, you don't know?" Luffy asked confused. Robin shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. Would it have anything to do with the packages I saw you carrying when you greeted me?" Robin once again observed Luffy as he began to sweat a little under her gaze with slightly widened eyes. Robin smile widened at this. She knew she was dead on. Luffy looked away from her gaze.

"I don't want to talk about it." Robin observed him a little more before nodding her head.

"Oh course. However, if it's something I can perhaps help you with, I will listen."

_**S**_

"I'm fine Robin" Luffy insisted, turning to face his opponent once again, before he realised he had just decapitated it "I just need to let off some steam"

"If you wish we could have a sparring match" Robin suggested. At the offer for a fight, she noticed Luffy's ear twitch with excitement but the young assassin chose to ignore it.

"No, I'm fine Robin" he replied, walking over towards where his robes were.

"I'll go easy on you" the female assassin said, smiling as she slowly began to wear the young man down.

"I'm okay" Luffy said once more, sticking his hand into the left sleeve of the robe

"...I'll see if I can sneak you some food from the kitchen if you win" Luffy fumbled with his robes, dropping them to the ground before he turned around to look at her with a smirk. His stomach roared in anticipation.

"Alright then..." the dark haired assassin said with a smirk.

"Good, then if I win, you have to tell me what's wrong" Luffy initially considered backing out at this news but, now that food was on his mind, his stomach growled in defiant encouragement.

"Deal" Luffy's mouth moved without his wanting and he smiled once more.

"...You might want to put some clothes on first though..." Robin muttered "after all, we wouldn't want you catching a cold, would we?"

For a moment, Luffy stood still in confusion, then, suddenly, he shivered and hunched over with chattering teeth.

"Come to think about it, it is kinda cold!" he exclaimed. Robin gave a small giggle at her friend's slow nature and then turned away, walking towards the centre of the sparring ring.

_**P**_

After dressing himself more, Luffy followed Robin to the sparring ring. As he entered it with her, she turned around to him with a smile.

"So, how shall we do this?" Luffy arched his eyebrows a bit at this, and then just shrugged.

"Guess whatever we're most comfortable with." Luffy said as he once again looked his opponent over while flexing his wrists. He had barely ever fought Robin before. She was more of a tactical person when compared to him and some of the other people he spared with. Her preferred method of dealing with people was much more subtle. Hiding in the shadows was definitely more her forte, even if it was what made all of them Assassins. Luffy wondered how she would handle a more direct Assassin like him, who would sneak up on their target, go for the kill, and then leave. He of course did make exceptions though.

The two stood there in the centre of the ring, staring at each other as they waited for the other to make a move. Luffy was ready as always, his hidden blade in his wrist bands to pop out and kill his opponent. Though in this case, he only intended to pin her down and point one at her throat threateningly. Robin, however, just stood there calmly. She seemed so bare, defenceless and even a bit innocent looking, with her more traditionally feminine appearance and her arms resting in front of her together, relaxed. Yet beneath that Luffy knew well there was a deadly killer, waiting for the right moment to strike, patiently. Luffy, however, wasn't as patient, and he ran forward to strike at her. Robin, however, knew the difference in their physically strength and the two hidden blades he wore. With that in mind, she wisely decided to avoid a full confrontation as she gripped her long skirt for a moment to swiftly step to the side, taking her hand away to knock Luffy's left hand off course, then ducking to avoid getting tackled by the other.

She then retracted her own single hidden blade and went to strike. Luffy, however, saw this and uses the right hand he missed her with to grab her own which held the hidden blade on her wrist. Gripping it tightly, he once again prepared to strike with his left. Robin, though, used the momentum of his previous tackle along with her weight and a bit of force to knock him down, with her on top. He had missed her as they both fell, but held a firm grip to the hand he had. Before she could pose a possible counter attack though, Luffy used his feet to kick her off him, sending her away to fall in front of him. Luffy quickly got up, and before she could recover, Luffy prepared to lunge at her while she was down... but then stopped mid-way. Luffy noted the small scratch to his side, inflicted by a sharp blade that had popped out of Robin's foot?

Luffy's eyes widen in realization. While on the ground Robin had kicked her leg up, something Luffy anticipated to be a flimsy attempt to stop him, made all the more pathetic looking by how her long skirt flapped at the motion, as if she was desperately struggling against a man wanting to take her. But it was not only controlled and direct, but also for the first time, Luffy noted that she was wearing a pair of some odd kind of footwear. High heeled ones, where a hidden blade popped out and grazed him.

_**S**_

Luffy cursed under his breath as he retreated slightly, allowing Robin to stand back on her feet. Robin gave a smile as she stood up, her hands casually flipped into her pocket. Of course, Luffy had been predicting exactly what Robin was doing the moment her hand grabbed the hilt of the small knives hidden in a pocket of her belt, but even he hadn't expected her strikes to be so fast. With a quick flick of both her wrists, Robin sent two twin knives soaring forwards towards her attacker. The knives moved with such speed that Luffy couldn't parry both of them, dodging the first, only to smack the second away with the hidden blade of his right hand. He turned to Robin, only to realise her true strategy. Robin had been distracting his attention away from her and now, she was right near him with two short knives in her hand. Luffy raised his left hand quickly, striking Robin's right blade with his left one. He also caught the second knife in a similar manner to the first with his right hidden blade. Unfortunately, Robin had more weapons than him and kicked forwards with her left leg, the hidden blade popping out of her high heel. Luffy reacted quickly, using all his strength to shake away Robin's right knife away from his left hidden blade, in order for him to dodge the kick. Now, he was alongside her. She was at a disadvantage, with only one knife to guard her, whilst he had two to attack.

"I'll just gently move it towards her neck" Luffy thought with a smile "she'll accept she's beaten..."

Robin didn't share his sentiments.

She flicked her left wrist quickly in Luffy's direction, sending a knife soaring right towards his face. Once more, Luffy had to side step the blow. Robin expected this and thus, performed a 180 degree sweep kick, knocking Luffy right off his feet as he landed in his new spot.

_**P**_

Robin gracefully span back in place while kneeling down for the final blow. Luffy struck both his hidden blades and his foot in an attempt to stop her as she lung her own hidden blade towards him.

The battle was over though.

Luffy attempted to parry her hidden blade proved useless as she paid careful attention to strike a vital organ out of his reach of her own. Having dodged his kick, she was now kneeling, ready to strike it around his stomach and heart, while keeping her head a safe distant from where he could reach. Luffy had breathed in slightly as the tip of her blade just about touched his stomach area.

"I believe I am the victor here." Robin said with a soft smile, not at all visibly dazed or worried over the whole ordeal. Luffy did notice a small sweet running down her forehead from the mild exertion of their spar, but that was all. Luffy pouted, clearly upset over having lost. However, he retracted his blades and put up his hands in defeat.

"Right, you win." Luffy admitted in an annoyed tone. Satisfied, Robin retracted her own blade before carefully kneeling up to stand. As Luffy began to get up himself, he noticed Robin reaching out her hand. Silently with a frown, Luffy accepted it, allowing her to help him up. Robin began to dust herself off before speaking to him again.

"And as such, you'll keep your word and tell me what's bothering you?" Luffy couldn't say no. Not in his logic anyway.

"You beat me... Squarely, so..." Luffy finished his sentence by grumpily nodding his head. Robin smiled when she faced him again, looking at him rather sympathetically.

"Of course... Tell you what. It's almost time for breakfast anyway, so if you collect my knives scattered around the place for me, I'll be sure to get you something to eat a little early."

_**S**_

Luffy licked his lips and smiled at this offer.

"Okay then" he said, springing to his feet and racing over towards the nearby knives. Robin smiled as she watched him go, when suddenly a question came to her head.

"So…where are those girls right now?" she asked. Luffy fumbled with a knife as he picked it up, being startled by Robin's question. He quickly recovered and pocketed the knife with a sigh.

"They're...currently in my room" Luffy replied. Robin gave him an accusing stare and Luffy quickly held up his hands in defence "not like that! They're...my prisoners..."

"Prisoners?" Robin asked in confusion. Luffy nodded in confirmation "what did they do?"

"It's not what they do. It's what I did" Luffy tried to explain "I failed to kill Daze in secret. Those girls spotted the assassination" As usual, Robin was as sharp as the knives she used and immediately understood Luffy's predicament.

"So…you volunteered to look after them instead of letting Dragon kill them"

"I'm regretting it a little at this point" Luffy responded with a growl. Robin, however, gave him a playful smile. She knew he was joking...even if he didn't...

_**P**_

Luffy continued to pick up the knives that lay on the ground after Robin had thrown them. Anyone of these could have easily been used by her to slit his throat if he wasn't careful. Of course, Robin wouldn't go and out right kill him really; (Despite her clearly and accurately throwing them at his face) that Luffy knew for a fact, he was glad he was able to work against them. He went to pick up the last one, or at least the one he presumed was the last of the one's she threw and led to her tripping him and finishing him off. With all of them collected, he walked back towards her and handed them to her.

"Here you go all four!" Luffy said with a smile, showing all of them together in front of both of them. Robin smiled and nodded her head. She then took them away from him before placing them back into the pockets she hid them.

"Shall we go?" she asked politely. Luffy nodded, not bothering to wait for Robin to lead the way herself and instead hastily taking the lead. Robin calmly followed him at her own pace, seeing no need to really rush.

"So then," Robin called out as she walked behind him "What have you so troubled?" Luffy lazily turned around to her. He made a quick puff of air through his nose before turning around to face her while walking backwards.

"I just feel like I've really messed up this time." Luffy begins reluctantly.

_**S**_

"I mean, not only did I fail to kill Daz incognito, but I also got these girls dragged all the way over here and now, I'm being forced to look after them because I refuse to kill them...does that make me weak Robin? Does it make me stupid?" Luffy asked, looking up into Robin's eyes for some semblance of an answer.

"No" Robin replied with a reassuring smile "it makes you human. From the sound of things, you're not trying to take the easier way out of the situation. You're taking the moral way out of it"

"It doesn't feel like it's the right way out of it" Luffy replied with a sigh.

"Right isn't the same as easy Luffy" Robin lectured "and right isn't the same as moral either. We kill even though it isn't the 'moral' thing to do, though it can be seen as the 'right' thing to do. Despite all that, we still stand by our own moral code as well. If anything, it is a sign of our strength and our own identity. I understand that you failed Luffy...but life is full of little mistakes. Heck, for all we know, life itself may be just a mistake. But whenever we make a mistake, we mustn't falter or dwell on it. Instead, we have to keep moving and keep smiling because life isn't going to stop and wait for us."

_**P**_

Luffy blinked at Robin's long winded explanation. He took a moment to think her words over and evaluate them in his head. Thinking about it, she was right.

"Yeah, I already know all that." Luffy said as he stops in front of her.

"And?" Robin asked encouragingly, patiently waiting for him to make his point as he stood in front of her with his head down

"... I'm glad you were able to help remind me." Luffy said with a bright toothy smile. "Thanks Robin."

"It was my pleasure." Robin assured him. Luffy turned around to once again head for somewhere to eat.

"What about the girls?" Robin asked, reminding him of his captives.

"... What about them?" Luffy asked mildly confused.

"I trust you haven't forgotten to feed them, or that they need to be fed?" Robin inquired patiently at her younger raven hair friend. Luffy's brain clicks at this knowledge. He had truthfully forgotten about feeding them do to how distracted he was. Thinking back though, he did remember them eating last night, so they shouldn't be too starved now. At least not yet.

Thinking about it, he should also allow the other two a chance to bathe.

"Don't worry; they're not up yet as far as I know. I'll wake them up to feed them after I've eaten." Luffy explained. Robin gave an approving nod at this knowledge.

"Good to know." she said, walking with him more until they reached a door "Allow me." Robin said, turning the handle and walking in first.

_**S**_

Luffy followed her eagerly, rubbing his hands together and licking his lips in expectation.

"Hello everyone" Robin called to the staff in the kitchens "guess who I brought for an early breakfast..." One of the cloaked chefs turned around at her cry. He spotted Luffy and his eyes widened.

"QUICK EVERYONE! TO YOUR STATIONS!" he cried in a panic "THIS IS A CODE RED IN WHITE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" at the chef's cries, everything seemed to happen at once. The kitchen was on high alert. In an instant, the doors to the kitchen, that had once been open, had been sealed and padlocked. An iron gate slammed shut over the food pantry and the chefs immediately hid the food they had been working on. Some of the chefs even got the knives they had been using to chop the food up and brandished them, preparing to protect their creations. With the kitchen now as silent as the grave, the head chef turned to face Luffy and Robin.

"Morning Miss Robin, Thief...what can I get for you?"

"You steal from the pantry and eat all of the supplies ONE time and they label you as a thief for life" Luffy muttered under his breath with a disappointed sigh. He also noticed many of the cooks were glaring at him.

_**P**_

Robin was highly amused by all their over the top antics, but was well aware why they took such extreme measures to protect the food they had been in charge of. After seeing all this, Robin was a bit worried to ask but remained vigilant at what she was about to ask.

"Morning sir, I actually have a favour to ask." This of course caught their attention.

"Of course, do you have a preferable dish you wish to have?" He asked with a wide delighted smile. Robin shook her head politely.

"No, I realize you have your hands full just trying to feed all of us. I would like to have my breakfast early however, along with my companion behind me." Robin lightly gestured behind her to where Luffy was standing, who gave a large toothy smile to the chefs and waved to them. The head chef face instantly turned into a grumpy frown at this request, instantly showing that he was going to be much less willing to provide help.

"...Ms Robin, you..." Robin politely interrupted him at this.

"I assure you, I'll make sure he doesn't eat too much of your food stock." Robin promised sincerely. The Head Chef was reluctant, but none the less, he nodded his head in confirmation at her request. "Very well, see to it that that pig stays out of the kitchen!" Luffy however, rather than feeling insulted, was just excited to be getting food. Suddenly his eyes widened as he remembered something.

"Oh yeah, the girls!" Robin turned to him at this.

"Yes of course. I'll have their food brought to you when you're done eating." She assured, coaxing him out of the kitchen and into the mess hall.

_**S**_

"MAKE SURE THE MEAT'S A NICE FAT PIECE!" Luffy shouted over his shoulder as he and Robin walked over to a nearby table. The head-chef growled but nodded as he headed back into the kitchen. Whilst the chefs in the kitchen worked to diligently prepare the meal, Luffy and Robin sat on the other side of the room. Soon, the waiters came rushing over with their meal, dropping in front of Robin a fabulous plate of bacon and eggs with a side order of Juice. A waiter even handed the raven haired woman a small cake for her to eat.

"Your sweet, Miss Robin..." the waiter said with a bow and a sly smile.

"Why thank you" Robin replied, taking the small cake with a nod of her head. Then, another waiter turned to Luffy and angrily slammed a large piece of meat in front of him.

"Your FAT, Master Luffy" he said with a growl. Luffy missed the undertones of hostility and began to feast on the delectable slice of meat with a smile. Quickly, the waiters left back to the kitchen to help fix up breakfast for the other assassin's, leaving Robin and Luffy to converse.

"So...what's Dragon said about these turn of events?" Robin asked, sipping lightly on her drink.

"I don't know" Luffy replied, chewing the meat in his mouth "we agreed that the girls wouldn't be hurt...but...I have to be punished for my failure...and I'm to take care of the girls as well"

"What are you going to do with them?" Robin inquired. Luffy swallowed the food and smiled at her.

"Keep them here I suppose" he stated.

"I mean in the long term, Luffy. You can't keep those dancers here forever"

"I thought about that...but Dragon denied my request" Luffy revealed, looking slightly down-trodden.

"What did you want?" Robin questioned

"I wanted to see if we could turn them into Assassins..."

_**P**_

Robin stayed quiet at this information. She honestly did not quite know how to answer to this and simply ate a piece of her egg.

After swallowing a piece she had cut, she asked "Is that so, any reason as to why besides simply getting them to stay here?" Robin looked at Luffy closely as he chewed his food, furrowing his brows as a sign he was thinking over the question just asked to him. Luffy swallowed his food with a big lumpy gulp before speaking.

"Not really..." Luffy admitted with a frown. "Just to make them useful I guess and to sort of integrate them in... turn them to our cause... I didn't have much of a reason; I figured it would be sort of a compromise." Luffy explained as best he could. Robin was certain that he hadn't thoroughly thought this idea through, or at least not enough to develop a proper reason to enrol them, and possibly even to convince them. Robin leaned closer to him a bit.

"Luffy, I'm sure you're aware of this but, you won't be able to just simply make Assassin's out of them." Luffy bowed his head a bit at this.

"Yeah, it takes potential, training, conviction, commitment and... I know it isn't easy... I've thought about maybe blackmailing them, saying it's either this or their lives, but both of us already know the problem with that." Robin nodded.

"Our group needs loyalty." Luffy paused at this.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't want to force them to kill people. That's for them to decide."

"Of course, so what will you do?" Robin asked, waiting once again to let him finish eating another bite.

"... There's nothing I really can do, but just keep them here." Luffy said solemnly, "And, I guess make them as comfortable as I can." Luffy added with a shrug.

_**S**_

Robin nodded in understanding and then continued to eat. This situation wasn't ideal for them or for the order but they had to work with what they had.

* * *

><p>Nami wasn't exactly sure what woke her up. It could have been anything from the sunlight pouring through the open window, to the cool breeze that caressed her face. She guessed though, that it had something to do with the two girls' beside her, who had awoken from their slumber a while ago and were now struggling against their bonds. Of course, Nami knew that their struggling wasn't going to work but, it kept Nojiko and Vivi occupied to a degree and they might have gotten lucky and broken free of their bonds. As it seemed though, their actions were futile. Quickly, Nami glanced over towards her captor's hammock and was rather perturbed that he wasn't there. The question of his location was one that Nami did not have the answer to and she was furious at how her freedom now depended on someone else. Someone who she had never met before and someone who had kidnapped her the day before...or had it been two days? Nami wasn't sure anymore. Time was ticking by too slowly to tell...<p>

_**P**_

Nami sighed at her distressed state, and then wiggled around a bit in her laying position. She was still tired but she figured she should at least test the rope-work binding her again. Once again though, to her disappointment, they hadn't gotten any weaker during her sleep and she still couldn't reach the knots keeping her wrists together. Grunting at this, she merely flopped back down and closes her eyes, resting from the mild exertion and trying to recover from her drowsiness. Vivi and Nojiko had sat up in their spot as best they could try to inch together. Their actions were tugging the rope that connected to their wrists that prevents them from moving anywhere much further than his hammock. If it was still attached to his wrist, it would have instantly alerted Luffy to their actions, even if he wasn't paying attention to them or was perhaps asleep. This morning, however, he had tied the ends to a secure ring on the wall near his hammock, too high for them to reach with bound hands, even if they managed to stand up to reach it. Instead though, they were leaning on each other back to back, trying as best they could to undue the knots on each other's wrists.

Suddenly, however, the door opened. Vivi and Nojiko shot back their heads to find with wide eyes that their captor had returned.

"What are you two up to?" Luffy asked seriously as he noted their back to back position. He walked in with two plates in his hand along with Robin who also had a third plate in her hand, along with a large bottle of water for their likely dried mouths.

_**S**_

"I do believe they can't reply to that accusation" the raven haired woman commented, pointing down at the gags on the girl's mouths. Luffy nodded in understanding and therefore leaned down towards the girls. He reached around the back of Vivi's neck and then slowly untied the gag, allowing Vivi to speak clearly. After Luffy had removed the gag, Vivi took in a large breath of air.

"Ah~ Thank you" she said politely, getting a glare from both Nami and Nojiko. Their eyes seemed to scream 'traitor' at her but Vivi looked away sheepishly from their gaze. Luffy then did the same to Nojiko, almost getting his finger bitten off in the progress. Luffy met Nojiko's glare with his own and then sighed.

"You know, if you're going to give me that look, I suppose I'm not going to let join your friend here for a nice relaxing soak in our hot springs before you eat" Immediately, Nojiko and Vivi's ears perked up.

"Hot springs?" the two asked. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah...no offence, but you guys might need a wash and a fresh change of clothes after all you've been through" Luffy explained "so I was going to take both of you down to the hot springs today...then again though, since you were much ruder than your friend, you'll have to stay here..." Nojiko growled at this statement. Luffy leaned closer towards Nojiko, cupping his ear.

"What was that? Was it a thank you?"

"Shut up..." Nojiko grunted in reply.

"Close enough" Luffy said with a sigh, before turning to his friend "Robin, do me a favour and look after her whilst I deal with these two. She had a wash last night" Nojiko and Vivi glanced at each other in confusion at this statement, an action which Robin noted.

"How come she has had one whilst these two haven't?" she asked, giving Luffy a knowing grin.

"She was awake last night when these two were asleep, so I thought I'd give her a bath to clean her up...NOT LIKE THAT" he shouted sternly, glaring at Robin, who was nodding along with Luffy's words, her judging eyes and knowing smile taunting him with how they teased him.

"Whatever you say" Robin responded, looking over to Nami "Want me to un-tie her?"

"Do as you wish" Luffy replied, turning back to the two girls to fiddle with the bonds that were tied their legs.

_**P**_

After untying their legs, Luffy carefully helped Vivi to her feet, making her stand while he helped Nojiko up as well.

"Um, excuse me?" Luffy turns to Vivi as she said this. "May we have some water before we go?" Vivi asked politely, having noticed the water bottle. Luffy thought about this for a moment before shrugging.

"Sure, give me a sec." With that he grabs the water bottle and while she was still standing, Luffy carefully poured the water inside down her open mouth, slowly filling it. Once just about full, Vivi eagerly swallowed the constantly pouring water down her oesophagus until she was satisfied and gave sigh of contempt. "Thank you." she says with a smile.

"No problem." Luffy smiled back.

"HEY! Vivi, why are you being so polite to our kidnapper?" Nojiko berated crossly. Vivi turned her head to her with a somewhat nervous smile.

"Well, he did give me a drink." Vivi pointed out.

"You want one too?" Luffy asked, hanging the bottle in front of her face. Nojiko furrowed her brows at him at this gesture, wondering if he was joking.

"... I'll have some when we get back up." Nojiko clarified. She then yelped as she suddenly felt herself being pulled.

"Okay then, let's go." Luffy said, yanking Nojiko forward towards him while Vivi stood beside him.

He opened the door to let Vivi out first before letting Nojiko pass second. Robin goes to the door after Luffy goes through it as well; ready to close it behind him.

"I'll be back in a while." Luffy said.

"I'll wait." Robin confirmed, before closing the door behind him. Robin stood there, for a moment, before turning back to the only person left in the room. Nami was sat up from her bed on the ground, still wearing the red dress given by Luffy last night, still bounded, and the long rope attached to her wrists still connected to the ring on the wall. Nami stared at this new person with mildly confused eyes. She was a Woman for sure Nami noted. Both by her beautiful feminine looks and also by the black gown she wore under her cloak. What confused her even more though was that the cloak resembled the ones the other Assassin's wore, even down to a few pieces of armour, though she didn't seem to have a weapon.

"Who is this Woman?" Nami thought as she watched the Woman walk up to her and elegantly leans down to sit in front of her on the carpet, before pulling the cloth covering her face down and allowing her to spit out the wad of cloth, giving her freedom of speech back.

_**S**_

"Well then" Robin began, looking over at Nami with a smile "would you like to have some food?" Nami glanced cautiously at the food that she had been brought. She soon turned to Robin and shook her head. She could have spoken, seeing as though she was no longer gagged but she didn't want to speak to this stranger.

"We'll wait till your friends get back then" Robin replied "my name's Robin by the way. It's nice to meet you"

"...Nami..." the orange haired woman replied hesitantly "I only wish we could have met under less...strenuous circumstances" Robin gave a laugh at the awkward situation and Nami laughed nervously in reply. Finally, she asked a question that had been in her head for some time."...Are you one of them?" Robin squinted at Nami in confusion.

"Them?" she questioned.

"You know...an assassin..." Nami whispered quietly, as if she were afraid speaking the word would cast some dark curse on her.

"Why yes" Robin responded "Yes I am...that isn't a problem is it?" Nami didn't reply and Robin laughed more at her sudden timid nature "Look, we're not all that bad" Robin reasoned "we're still only human like you. We're not going to cut you down where you stand..."

_**P**_

Nami stayed quiet at this for a moment, not sure how to react to her morbid words for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders lightly. "I can't really stand anyway." Nami commented jerking around her still bonded form.

"True of course" Robin agreed with a small chuckle. They sat there quietly again, Nami still being quite uneasy with this woman. She was curious though, however she was also a bit afraid to ask.

But curiosity got the better of her…

"So, um, you get around, okay?" Nami asked hesitantly. Robin raises her eyebrow at this.

"What would you be implying?" Nami contemplates dropping the subject, but looking how the raven haired woman was genuinely confused she elaborates.

"Sorry, it's just for all the trouble and precautions my captor does to keep me and my friend's captive, I sort of expected all Women... to be in chains around here, or something." Robin smiled as she comes to understand.

"We're not that type of community, as you can see from me." Robin said, gesturing to herself as proof "I am a fully recognized and respected Assassin of the highest ranks and a friend of your Captor." Robin explained to her, then gesturing her hand to Nami. "And you?" Nami was hesitant before answering.

"A Dancer Girl, kidnapped, bagged, and shipped to who knows where." Nami explained the past event shortly and vaguely to the woman, but it was enough for her to understand, especially with the details she already established. Robin smiled at this, "Well then, Dancer Girl Nami, would you like me to untie you?"

_**S**_

"I wouldn't complain if you did" Nami replied, looking down with irritation at her current state. Robin chuckled and nodded, standing up and moving behind her to help un-tie her.

"So, how was your first night?" Robin decided to ask whilst her trained fingers began to loosen the bonds around Nami's wrists.

"It was good enough I suppose" Nami said, soothing her sore wrists the moment they were free "as good a night as it could be with me having to sleep so uncomfortably..."

"I'll try and have a word with Luffy about that" Robin replied, shimmying around to work on the ropes around the girl's back, whilst Nami reached down and began to un-tie the ropes around her legs "but you really aren't helping yourself you know"

"I'm not helping myself!" Nami exclaimed in rage "I haven't done anything wrong here! It's because of your friend that I've been kidnapped and dragged half way around the country away from my home"

"Yes it is" Robin conceded "but he's trying to make up for it. He's sticking his neck out for all of you by keeping you alive. I'm not saying you should be all buddy with him and just forgive him instantly but give Luffy a chance, okay?"

"Give him a chance?" Nami asked in confusion. The assassin had turned her life into a living hell. How insane was this woman for asking her to get along with THE MAN WHO HAD KIDNAPPED HER?

"It'll make your stay more pleasant" Robin replied with a smile. At Robin's words, a sudden fact dawned on Nami and she turned to gaze sadly at Robin, now being free to move as she was fully untied.

"I...I'm not going to leave here, am I?" Robin didn't reply.

* * *

><p><em><strong>P<strong>_

Nojiko grunted in annoyance as she sat down waiting for her friend to finish. The three of them had made it to the hot spring below the Temple, being carefully led by Luffy down the same path he showed Nami last night. When they got there, Luffy had untied Vivi and turned away, allowing her to undress, but he kept Nojiko restrained.

"Just in case you two decide to split up and run." Luffy had said to them. He let Vivi go in first because she was polite to him. When Nojiko tried to protest, she was promptly re-gagged and made to sit with Luffy as they wait for Vivi to finish bathing, Luffy keeping his back away, despite Vivi already being in the water. There was no need for Nojiko to look away, however, and as she watched her friend happily wash away all of the sweat, grime, unpleasant smells and worries from her beautiful skinny body, all the while Nojiko found herself bitterly jealous. Luffy waited patiently for Vivi to wash herself, having noted that her hair was actually longer than both girls and had spent a bit longer without a bath, not that Luffy knew if that mattered when you eventually took one. After much waiting Luffy eventually heard a body climbing out of the water.

"I'm done." Vivi called to him.

"Good, dry yourself and get dressed." This time he had clothes prepared for the two girls. He had took Vivi's Dancer outfit and replaced it with a dress similar to the one he gave Nami. It was a light shade of blue with long bell sleeves. It was a bit less decorated than Nami's though, with only a white sash and a smaller but still loose collar that had more of a square cut to it that showed a bit of her upper skin. Vivi did what was asked and eventually made her way to her captor. Luffy turned around to inspect the girl, smiling a little at how nice she looked. He then grabbed a length of rope and proceeded to tie her hands in front of her this time, letting a long end of it trail off in front of her, allowing him to pull her.

_**S**_

Then, Luffy tied the rope around the nearby door knob and motioned for Vivi to sit down nearby on a dry patch of rock. The assassin then turned to Nojiko.

"Are you done having a tantrum now 'Princess'?" he asked mockingly, causing Nojiko to growl at him reply. Finally, however, Nojiko gave a sigh of defeat and allowed Luffy to untie her. Luffy loosened the bonds around her body and Nojiko stood up, meaning that all of the ropes fell to the floor. Finally, Luffy untied her hands, watching Nojiko very carefully for any sudden movements. She had, after all, incapacitated Ace two nights before and Luffy was making sure that the same wouldn't happen to him. As he untied Nojiko's hands, he gently pushed the girl forwards, towards the hot spring. Nojiko stumbled for a moment, before she regained her balance and turned to give Luffy another cruel glare. Luffy, however, responded to the angry look by waving happily.

"Alright then, it's your turn. Get undressed...and if I hear you trying to do anything, I won't hesitate to get you back in line" Nojiko didn't respond to Luffy, even after the Assassin had turned away. When he was no longer looking, she quickly removed her large coat and, in a sudden burst of inspiration, flung it backwards with a sly smirk, straight at Luffy. Unfortunately, her attempt at a distraction failed as Luffy grabbed the coat without turning around and quickly brought it round to the front, where he then proceeded to fold it against his chest. Nojiko was very displeased with this failure and therefore, gave up on her plots. She removed her dancer's outfit on the floor as she had been commanded to and then made her way to the pool of water. The cold splash and a loud yelp of displeasure at the sudden heat told Luffy that Nojiko was now inside the pool of water and it was safe to turn around and collect her clothing...so long as he kept his eyes focused...

_**P**_

Luffy kept his eyes focused on the exotic clothing Nojiko had stripped herself from and proceeded to fold them up before taking them back to place in the bag he carried with him along with the coat she had thrown to him.

"I have them all now. I'll get them cleaned later." Luffy thought to himself with a nod. Tying the end of the sack shut, Luffy left the clothes for the last Dancer and once again sat with his back turned to the geyser Nojiko was currently in, listening as she settled herself and making sure she didn't try anything. He then turned to Vivi, who had been inspecting the knot work on her wrist bindings but hadn't made any noticeable attempt to remove them. She had just simply tested them a bit. Luffy figured that despite how corporative she was being she was probably thinking of her own way to perhaps get out of this, though he hoped she wasn't naive enough to think just untying the simple cuffs on her wrists would be enough to even have a slim chance of escape.

"Comfortable?" Luffy asked her merrily, causing Vivi to quickly turn to him at being addressed to. She smiled somewhat awkwardly to this.

"... I suppose. This is less... Restricting than the one you had me in last night and this morning." Vivi stated, having tried to find the right word to described being restrained less elaborately than earlier.

_**S**_

"I apologise but it kind of defeats the aim of taking prisoners if you let them get away" Luffy said with a chuckle. Vivi nervously laughed in reply, shifting her gaze down towards the floor. Luffy wasn't surprised. After all, talking on reasonable terms with your kidnapper was the very definition of uncomfortable.

"So...did you get a nice sleep last night anyway?" Luffy asked, tapping his fingers along the floor nervously. Vivi nodded.

"Yes...I suppose...thank you for asking" she said.

"No problem. I'm not some heartless prison warden after all. I'd rather your stay be as comfortable as possible" the assassin replied with a laugh. Quickly though, he once again fell into silence, noticing how nervous Vivi was at the comment. She didn't seem to be in the mood for talking about how long she was being forced to remain here.

_**P**_

Wearily, he listened more intently to what was behind him. Nojiko was still washing herself in the hot water, having adjusted to it a while ago. Luffy absentmindedly wondered how Robin was dealing with...

"Nami" Luffy recalled out loud. Vivi perked up at this. She was certain that she just heard the man call her friend's name. Vivi stared at her captor uncertain, watching how he seemed content to just sit there looking at the ground. Furrowing her brows, Vivi turned to see her friend bathing in the water, her blue hair wet from soaking it with the hot steamy substance. Nojiko sighed in content, enjoying the feeling of the water as it seeps into her body, relaxing her in its steamy warm and soft liquid embrace.

"These people knew how to take their time to relax." Nojiko thought with a lazy smile. Never the less though, she had been in there a bit longer than she really should have, and pretty much done bathing herself. Also, she was now really starting to get hungry, and she was sure Vivi felt the same, who was still down here with her. With a sigh, Nojiko hurriedly finished off her bath, getting out to dry herself with the towel provided. After hurriedly drying herself as quickly but as efficiently as she could, Nojiko stepped forward to take her cloths and put them on. It was like Nami's and Vivi's own dresses, but this one had a creamy colour to it with a loose triangular cut collar with brown triangular neck decoration around it. Nojiko then reluctantly walked towards her captor, tying the brown sash around her waist along the way. Luffy turned around at her approach and smiled.

"Finally done I see." he says. Nojiko stayed quiet for a moment, watching the man as he reached for a length of rope, no doubt to tie her like Vivi. Speaking of Vivi though, Nojiko looked to see that she was tied to the door, but with noticeably as much rope he used when he led them to his room last night, and with her hands in front of her.

_**S**_

Nojiko's mind suddenly began racing with possibilities. If she could get past Luffy and get to the door, she could lead Vivi away to safety...they could escape. Nami, however, would still remain trapped and Nojiko was afraid of leaving her sister here alone in this unknown landscape. Could she be fast enough to escape an assassin? Could she wrestle the black haired woman into submission and dash away with Nami? Of course, she was being crazy now but she didn't care. She hated feeling so trapped. As the assassin stepped forwards towards her, time seemed to freeze. It was now or never. Either she acted or she played it safe...

The knight had her in 'check'.

It was her move...

* * *

><p>The council chambers were silent and dark. The curtains had been drawn to fortify the room against the sunlight and the only light in the room was a small candle at the centre of the round table. Dragon had his arms folded and he clenched his fists underneath his robes as he looked down at the punishment verdict. The scroll in front of him was simple. Whilst Luffy's crimes against the creed were unique and had never before been committed, the ancient records listed various punishments suitable for the varying levels of treason. The one that could be applied most likely to Luffy's case brought great distress to the council. Out of the corner of his hood, Dragon could make out Shakky staring at the verdict in shock, afraid to speak. Rayleigh sat beside her but his expression was blank. If he wanted to oppose the judgment, he chose not to voice it.<p>

"...Such an action..." Ivankov suddenly spoke up from nearby; wearing his usual bright red assassin robes "Straw-hat boy should not be punished in such a way! It is foul and ungodly cruel!"

"The brat can take it" a gruff voice argued, as Monkey D. Garp gazed down at the verdict with a pleased nod from under his dark blue robes.

"Is it right to place such a punishment on Luffy for following the creed to the best of his ability?" Shakky asked, looking over towards Dragon, as if he held the answer to this question.

"...We must" Dragon insisted "mistakes need to be learned from...and this will ensure he never makes such a risky mistake again..."

"He's your son" Shakky continued, her eyes begging Dragon for mercy.

"He is an assassin first" Dragon retorted "it does not make him above the rules"

"Luffy wouldn't accept special treatment" Garp agreed with a nod "he'd want us to respect his membership of the creed. I'm in favour of this punishment"

"I second the motion" Kuma spoke up, raising his hand slightly. Dragon silently raised his hand as well.

"All against?" the grand master asked. In reply, Ivankov and Shakky lifted their hands into the air. Rayleigh remained motionless.

"Rayleigh, what is your verdict?" Shakky asked. Rayleigh sighed in reply, leaning on the back of his chair.

"...The boy...must be punished. We cannot show special favour in the creed" the old man stated. Shakky stared at him in disbelief, whilst Dragon nodded.

"Then it is agreed" Dragon finished, looking away from the piece of paper on the table, as if the mere sight of it sickened him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>P<strong>_

Nami sighed as she just sat there on the carpet, her arms hugging her legs in front of her. Robin was sitting close by, having picked up some of the books on the book shelf to inspect and was currently reading through one of them. Even though she was clearly occupied, Nami was sure that the female Assassin was still alert and keeping track of her. To be honest, Nami was simply too cautious and afraid to really try anything at that moment. She had contemplated, not once either, trying to surprise her. Maybe knocking her out and stealing her cloths in the process...

It was a risky plan... but thinking about it in more detail now... especially regarding her book she was reading...Nami shifted her eye towards Robin a little, watching as she flipped the pages on a book...

'Shanksbear'? Nami shook her head at this. Surely she had miss-read that.

"So, what, are you reading?" Robin grinned widely at this question, almost as if she said a joke that almost succeeded in making her burst out laughing.

"A fairly unique piece of literature." Robin replied, calming herself down. If she realized that Nami had gotten up, she didn't show it.

"Um..." Nami replied back. She walked towards the desk that she figured belonged to her captor...

"Luffy..." she recalled quietly. Nami stopped to listen for a moment, trying to gather whether she was being too obvious and whether the Woman behind her had reacted in some way. She had done nothing really though, besides a small shift from her clothing that could be interpreted as her looking at her, or just shifting her position a bit. Looking back on the desk, however, she found several gadgets, from wristbands that looked similar to the ones the Assassin's wore, to simple blades that seemed to resemble the one that popped out of Luffy's wrist.

"... Would he have another one?" Nami thought. There were various stuff as well despite the blades, pouches, tools, a bottle... balls? Nami turned her head as subtly as possible to see if Robin was paying any mind to her. She still seemed preoccupied. Nami slowly turned back and picked up the manmade looking ball carefully.

"I wonder..." Nami thought. She shifted her gaze; looking for something else she could use something as a weapon. Nami's eyes wander towards a small, longish rod or some kind. Something she could easily hide. Nami looked back towards the ball in her hand and the ones on the table, and then towards the rod, then, back at the rest of the contents.

Then she looked back at Robin, still reading her book. Maybe she looked at her earlier and she just caught her at the wrong time. Maybe she looked away as soon as she turned her head to look. But from what Nami could see, Robin was distracted. Nami then wondered about the ropes and cloths that bound her and Robin had untied from her earlier and the bed sheets that she slept under. Nami had done everything in her power and will not to gulp, or make a sound at all, as she carefully picked up the rod and hid both it and the ball in her hand behind her as she walks a bit closer back to her spot.

_**S**_

Quickly, Nami studied the area. The door was nearby and, to her luck, it appeared to be unlocked. Outside, she couldn't make out anyone but she knew the instant she made a move, the corridor would possibly be swarming with guards.

Her mind was clear and focused as she slowly moved over to see what Robin was reading. This was her one and only chance...but it could work. It all relied on one factor.

Surprise.

The instant she moved, the time would be ticking. She didn't know how long she would have before everything would fall apart around her...but if she moved fast enough and if she was smart, she had a chance of finding Nojiko and Vivi and making a run for it. The chance was small, but she was willing to die trying for an escape at freedom. It was strange really, she'd never thought as much as this before or had this much courage. Then again, maybe hopeless situations helped inspired you sometimes.

"Is everything okay?" Robin asked, looking up at Nami suddenly, seeing as she had been standing in front of her for some time. Nami took a deep breath and acted.

Before Robin could move, Nami flung the steel ball at the floor with all her strength. As it hit the ground, the ball clicked and exploded in a cloud of smoke. Robin was knocked off guard by the sudden attack. She tried to stagger to her feet as the smoke spread rapidly upwards, grasping and teasing Robin's nostrils. Nami knew that the smoke would affect her as well and so, as quickly as she could, she swung the pole at Robin. The pole hit the raven haired woman in the face and Robin fell onto the stone floor with a displeased grunt.

"Sorry..." Nami managed to choke out in regret as she hit the floor. Nami then quickly went over towards Robin. So far, her exit window was still open. She just had to be fast...

That was when the door opened...

_**P**_

Nami's face shot up to see who was at the door.

"Was he back?" Nami thought in a panic.

Moving on impulse now, Nami quickly left Robin's side as she moved towards the entering person.

"What happened in he..?" the new person had barely any time to react as Nami charged to him, strongly swinging the hard, powerful pole over his head.

"WHAT THE?" he yelled, blocking her attack but still getting hit on the head by the end of it, stunning him momentarily. Desperate and now full of heart pumping adrenaline, Nami swiftly shot her skirt covered leg upward, kicking the careless person between the legs. He instantly put his hands to his balls, biting his lip to keep himself from squealing. This worked for Nami better however. He made less noise than she had feared, and would go all the more unnoticed as this tricky Jin made her next move. Nami grabbed him by his coat and dragged him into the room, throwing him to the floor before jumping him again, whacking him with the now partly dented weapon. He was knocked out cold. Nami grabbed her pounding heart, trying to calm herself now that she had dealt with the person who, for those few moments, she feared to be caught once again by.

Her eyes widened, however, as a soft grown reminded her of the female Assassin in the room that was supposed to be watching her. She was still conscious and not bleeding, but was no doubt a bit bruised and dizzy over hitting her head. She was quickly recovering, but was vulnerable. Nami looked at the Woman sadly as she struggled to get up. She felt bad, she actually sort of liked her, who had been pleasant to her while her actual captor was away... and who knows how he's progressed bathing her friends. Shaking her head, Nami raised her would be weapon again.

"...Sorry, again." Nami said sincerely before quickly knocking it over Robin's head before she could recover, knocking her out. With no time to loose, Nami instantly got to work. She dragged the guard outside to the balcony, closing the blinds behind her to cover him. It became a bit darker, but Nami was still easily able to see with the light going through the curtains. She dragged Robin's unconscious body towards the ropes and bed sheets she had been sleeping with last night, now making Robin sit up there, inspecting her for a moment, before taking a deep breath and started to strip her. She started by unbuckling the wristbands over the sleeves of her robe, putting them down on the carpet before removing the high heels under her skirt. With her accessories out of the way, Nami untied the black sash around her waist. It took a bit of effort, but Nami then hurriedly pulled off of Robin the Assassin's signature white hooded robes, revealing the full black sleeveless gown underneath that had a loose oval cut.

Nami gulped as she began to remove this as well. She considered just putting the robe and wristbands over her own dress, but she couldn't deny this was safer on the long run, even if it would take longer and remove almost all modesty from the beautiful Assassin.

_**S**_

After Robin was fully stripped, Nami, using all the strength she could, picked her up and then placed her in Luffy's hammock, curled up amongst the blankets. She then pulled the blankets over her and smiled sadly down at Robin. She was still alive. She had a pulse and her breathing was relaxed. Slowly, Nami shook her head and stood up. She couldn't get bogged down in sympathy now. She needed to keep moving. The first course of action Nami took was that she opened the door leading to the balcony, allowing some of the lingering smoke to disappear. The smoke scattered effectively in the wind and left no clear trail to the room. Nami smiled. Luck was on her side for the first time in days.

Next, she hauled up the unconscious assassin and, in a stroke of inspiration, sat him on the chair Robin had sat on, positioning the man so he seemed asleep. With that done, Nami smiled and then began to strip out of her own attire. She was going to have to be quick about this. She practically flung off the red dressing gown which Luffy had fetched for her and then busied herself with putting on Robin's gown. Luckily, the black sleeveless gown fitted her relatively well, if it was a tiny bit large around the chest. Still, it was not enough to gain attention.

It didn't take long for Nami to get dressed into her new attire and it took only slightly longer to ensure that she was equipped with all of Robin's weapons (minus the hidden blade, which she had gotten a sick feeling from and had left on the side desk).

The clothes felt dirty to Nami.

It wasn't that they hadn't been properly washed or that Robin had been a particularly unclean herself, it was what the clothes represented.

They were the clothes of a murderer.

It was the uniform of the killer.

Nami tried to ignore this thought as she placed her hand on the doorknob and gently exited the room but it continued to drum around inside her mind. As the door opened, Nami looked down each of the corridors. There was no-one to be seen. Nami smiled and closed the door after her, before walking along the bright stone passageway. It was all in her mannerisms. As long as she remained calm and controlled, no-one would know who she was. She could walk along un-noticed in the crowds...

Was this how Luffy had felt the night he had been sneaking in to kill Daz? Nami doubted it. She was a fine actor herself but Luffy had a killer's calm pulse. Her heart was beating around in her chest in every direction in an attempt to escape her ribcage.

* * *

><p><strong>ENDING MEMORY SESSION... REMEMBER TO TURN OFF ALL CURRENTLY UNUSED MACHINERY WHEN GOING TO BED OR LEAVING THE BUILDING TO SAVE POWER.<strong>

**P: *Polar slowly crawls back up from the ground. Then he pulls out the last remaining spear* Well, that's one last problem off my chest. So, that's it folks. We'll re-fine the last bit of pre-written material we have before working out how we're going to proceed. Last time I checked though, we still have at least 7000 words already written, so we just need to fill the void from there... *Scratches butt, pulls out another spear, then throws it at Shadowon.***

**S: *spear sticks in arm* Hm, when did that get there...? Anyway, that's unfortunately all we have time for this latest instalment of One Piece of a Creed. Until next time, I'm Shadowonthewall6...*gestures to Polar to start*...oh come on, you're not still sore about the whole 'human shield comment, are you?'**

**P: Oh no. It's the spears that are sore.**

**Advice and Criticism would be appreciated. I'm Bear D Polar and I hope you have enjoyed this. Later**

**Thanks for reading.**


	5. Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

**Polar: ...**

**Shadow: *whistles casually* So...yeah...we haven't updated in a while, huh buddy?**

**Polar: ...**

**Shadow: Well, let me be the first to apologise on behalf of both of us for this late update...BUT WE CAN EXPLAIN...*whispers to Polar* we can explain can't we?**

**Polar: ...**

**Shadow:...er...well you see...the thing is er...why we hadn't updated in a while is...er...er...**  
><strong>Crud...ENTER THE ANIMUS!<strong>

**ANIMUS LOADING...For those who are not a fan of Verdana font remember, you can always change the font at the top of the screen. Thank you and enjoy your animus session...**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Sheep in Wolf's Clothing<strong>

**P**

"Honestly, and I thought you had learned." Luffy sighed in disappointment.

"And here I was going to go easier on you and actually let you walk back with me." Nojiko let out a loud, muffled shriek through her gag at that. Nojiko had tried to jump Luffy but had been avoided. With his hands full of rope however and due to how suddenly her attack came, he couldn't properly grab her and bind her like he originally intended. Rather than fight him, Nojiko had ran for it, hastily grabbing the door knob and trying to untie Vivi from it. She barely succeeded in loosening it; by the time Luffy had recovered. He had sprinted towards her and forced her down before retying her. She had still struggled and screamed, however, which prompted Luffy to tie her up the same way he had done previously.

Now, they were finally walking down the underground tunnel. Luffy in front, holding the rope connected to Vivi's wrists as she followed behind obediently and distressed, whilst Nojiko rested over her shoulder as if she was a sack of potatoes, with an actually sack filled with their clothes and a few extra rope being held on top of her, as if to add to her humiliation. Nojiko struggled a little but Luffy just shifted her on his shoulder, as if she wasn't a bother. He even patted her a little from behind, causing Nojiko to grunt in displeasure.

"Quiet you, or would you rather I make things even worse." Luffy warned her. "Maybe I could actually hang you from the balcony, make you watch the beautiful horizon extended from a rope and with a huge drop to look forward to if it would to snap, not to mention the weather." Nojiko was quiet at this.

"Would he actually do that...? He did mention hanging them before, but he said that as a joke! Right?" Nojiko laid on his shoulder silently, thinking over his threat. Seeing no reason to risk it, now that she was already captured... again, Nojiko bowed her head, sighing in defeat. Wearily, she looked over to Vivi, being able to do so as her head leaned up from her captors back. She glanced at her sadly, upset that she couldn't do anything, even coming close to freeing them both, let alone Nami with them. Vivi looked back at her apologetically, for not being able to help her friend. With a sad smile, Vivi mouthed to her friend,

"I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>

Meanwhile, around three floors above the assassin and his prisoners, Nami was on the move. She walked calmly down the staircase into the main room, ignoring the assassins who glanced at her as they passed.

"They're not suspicious." Nami kept thinking to herself "They're curious. Just stay calm..." and, miraculously, she did remain calm. Her erratic heart beat slowed and her walk became confident. Nami reassured herself with a small quiet sigh before continuing onwards down the staircase. Bookcases lined the walls and many philosophical hooded assassins were engaging in the literature. Strangely, after Nami had met Robin, she had begun to recognise the woman of the order, due to the subtle differences in the way they wore their white robes. In a way, it scared Nami how similar all of these assassins looked when they were in their robes and it scared her even more now that she could actually tell the assassins apart by gender. It was a sign that she was getting used to them and she didn't like that fact one bit. Nami quickly re-evaluated her goals as she walked. She needed to find Vivi and Nojiko. It was imperative that she found them before she tried anything else. If she was lucky, Luffy wouldn't recognise her and, assassin or not, Nami was sure a strike to the back of the head would put him out of her misery long enough for her to escape with her friends. Already, the plan was falling into place. Nami knew just what to do...

Now; all that was left was to gain access to the lower levels. Unfortunately, a pair of guards was currently standing in front of the door Nami had taken to the hot springs.

"You can do this Nami..." the dancer thought to herself as she walked boldly over towards the guards. It was her only chance at saving Vivi and Nojiko and she couldn't very well leave without them. At her approach, one of the guards looked upwards and raised his hand in greeting.

"Safety and peace comrade" he said. Nami maintained her cool nature as she raised her right hand up in reply.

"Safety and peace" she replied.

She knew it.

She knew she'd been caught.

She knew it before the man's eyes had widened and his free hand had reached for a dagger. She had looked over at his right hand. She had counted the fingers...and that was when she had realised...

All of the assassins she had met had their ring finger missing...

She had five.

**P**

In an instant, a primal instinct surged within her, one that reacts when one's own life is in danger, filled her with a rush of adrenaline, causing her to quickly jump backwards. One hand went to hike her skirt as her heals touched the ground, distancing herself a small bit away from the men in front of her, who were drawing their weapons, in the middle of directing them towards her in warning. In an instant, her other hand went and grabbed her only real defence, clumsily taking out the round metal object. Just before the men could approach her or even speak, Nami had thrown the ball to the ground, covering the lower half of her face with the same hand as the smoke shot out of it and engulfed her surroundings.

"What the?" One voice yelled in surprise "smo...?"

The man didn't finish his sentence as he inhaled some of the smoke in his surprise and was now in a coughing fit. Nami disappeared into the smoke, a mere mirage in the vast sandy desert to these men's eyes.

"Get her!" the first man shouted as he charged into the smoke to grab her. The disoriented men uselessly flailed around in the smoke as they attempted to catch the impostor, only to run out the other side of the smoke cloud with nothing but empty hands and a pair of lungs filled with smoke.

"Where *cough* did she…?" one of the guards tried to ask in confusion. Nami, however, was much more self-aware within the smoke, having inhaled less and she let her keen senses guide her as she fled the scene.

Nami was now on the run, taking random turns and continued to head along the corridor, terrified, hoping and praying that the assassins wouldn't follow her, alert too many more to her presence, or that the very act of throwing that bomb hadn't caused too much attention as she thought it had. It was run or hide and if push came to shove, she would stand her ground and fight for her and her friend's freedom.

**S**

As she ran, Nami's fingers fumbled around in her pocket, checking the number of smoke bombs she had left. To her despair, there was only one remaining. She silently cursed as she sprinted around a corner, running towards the nearest staircase down. As she turned the corner, an assassin standing in the middle of the corridor turned around hearing her footsteps. Before he had a chance to guess what was happening, however, Nami ran straight past him, swinging the pole swiftly backwards at his neck. The man groaned in pain at the impact and fell to the floor. Miraculously, Nami managed to keep running, spinning on her heel to complete the arc of the attack until she had spun a complete 360 degree turn. Nami couldn't even accept she had done that well herself but she couldn't think about it now. Nojiko and Vivi were most likely on the floor below as she spoke. Nami quickened her pace immediately, bounding down the stairs at full tilt...only to bump into another assassin. Unlike the first, however, Nami noted that this one was wearing a fully black outfit, similar to what she had seen Luffy's father wearing the day before...

This is how Nami met Inazuma, the golden flash of the Assassin order...

**P**

Nami stepped back a bit dazed at running into someone, but instantly became fully alert with the possible danger and regained her balance to look at the new person. Nami's eyes were wide as she laid them on the tall man in black. Anxiety filled her as she watched him stare down at her, preparing to do anything she could to avoid a possible fight, but keeping a quick careful mind not to just waste her last smoke bomb. If he was affected by her bumbling into him, she had missed it. Nami's heart was beating rapidly once more. She willed herself to calm down, adjusting her hood as to remain more concealed, wondering if this was the kind of man who was familiar with the people of the organization he was presumably a part of (as she presumed he was a high ranked member, who she viewed should be responsible in knowing such things) and bowing lowly.

"I'm sorry; I wasn't looking where I was going!" Nami apologised as politely as she could. She had cringed seconds later, though, when she realized that she sounded like she was begging, something she didn't think would be tolerated by such a group who killed for a living.

"... It is alright, I should also apologise." Slowly, Nami looked up to see the man once again.

"...Is he toying with me?" Nami banished the thought from her mind, acknowledging that it's a possibility but knows that the last thing she should do is panic. Nami made eye contact with him, briefly spotting some unusual shiny black eyes under his hood, almost like he was wearing some dark pieces of glass, and then nodded her head.

"No need, I was just in a hurry... Pardon me." Nami passed him, holding her breath as she hiked her skirt a bit and jogged past him, slowly going into a slower run then last time to hurry herself but attract less attention and so she could actually see where she was going under the hood she was wearing. Nami took a big breath in relief as she finds that she wasn't been stopped. Slowing down into a stop, she turned around to find no one in the hall but herself.

"... I think, I've lost them." Nami thought to herself as she carefully turns around. She walked calmly again, taking small relaxed steps, taking note to NOT show her right hand again.

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>

Inazuma had watched Nami as she walked away and then, he gave a casual shrug. Wherever that girl was in a hurry to or whatever she was doing, it was none of his business. Calmly, Inazuma turned away and continued to walk up the stairs. After all, he had important business to attend to. He had to locate Monkey D. Luffy and tell him to report to his father at once, in order for punishment to be exacted and to pure him of his failure. Inazuma was currently on his way towards the assassin's bedroom to give him the news. He had only heard rumours of the boy's predicament but, Master Ivankov had told him to find Luffy and bring him in to receive his judgment. Inazuma had known Luffy long enough to know that the man was pure of heart...well, as pure a heart as a murderer could be. Whatever the boy had done wrong, Izazuma felt a small pang of pity for him. Reaching the top of the stairs, however, these feelings of pity disappeared as the golden flash noticed the unconscious body of an assassin on the floor. Suddenly, realisation dawned on his face.

"Oh mother-f..."

* * *

><p>"Fantastic..." Nami muttered, glancing around the long winding hallways. She was now well and truly lost.<p>

**P**

Nami gripped her hooded head with both her hands tightly at this realization. She made a frustrated growl as anxiety and anger starts to seep into her.

"I was sure I memorized the way to get there!" Nami yelled in her mind "How did I get lost? ...Was it when I made that turn... or maybe I ran too far?" Nami smacked her face with her hands, covering her eyes and gripping tightly again to try and calm herself down by releasing some of the pent up tension. She was barely succeeding.

"Okay... calm down... your just a little lost. Surely you can find your way by wandering a little." Nami thought to herself positively. She smiled at herself at this thought. "Hell, there's no one even after me at the moment..." Nami instantly turned around, her eyes wide as she laid her eyes on... nothing...

Nami took a breath in relief.

"For a second there, I thought I was going to eat my words."

After calming herself down once more, she turned on her heels to go on.

"I can't stand here all day; I've got to find Vivi and Nojiko... I just hope I haven't missed them." Nami thought to herself before walking further down a hall.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Luffy was in one of the hallways in the temple, having left the underground to return to his room.<p>

"... Here we are!" Luffy announced, having spotted the door he had become so familiar to. Giving another slight tug on leash on Vivi's wrists, Luffy proceeded to open the door he left unlocked.

"We're back!" Luffy called as he entered to room, and to his surprise, he found a few changes.

For one, both Robin and the captive he left her with weren't there!

Luffy quickly scanned the room to find someone sitting on his desk chair near the book shelf. He arched his eyebrow at this, wondering why he was here. Then he turned to see a lump on his bed. There was something hiding on the covers, concealing it from his view. Finding this odd, but not too alarming, Luffy entered the room with the two silent Dancers, letting the bag fall to the floor and carefully placing the immobilised Nojiko to the ground where she could wiggle more freely if she so stubbornly wished. Luffy took a closer look at the blanket covered mystery, eyeing it for a bit, and then he noticed a subtle movement, hearing the quiet intake and outtake of breath. Something was definitely breathing inside.

**S**

With a confused expression on his face, Luffy reached down into the hammock and gently tugged the blanket away from the person. There, laying completely naked inside the hammock was none other than Robin. Her hands were lying limply by her side and her chest was moving up and down as she gently breathed in and out. Not expecting to see Robin in this light, Luffy froze in place for a moment. Then, just as swiftly as he had removed the blanket, he placed it back on again and turned to face Nojiko and Vivi. The two girls paled immediately when they saw Luffy's face. It looked absolutely livid. Without warning, Luffy stepped forward, shoving a cloth into Vivi's mouth before she could react. Nojiko struggled when she noticed this but Luffy didn't bother to try and calm her down. Instead, in a bout of anger, he gently chopped the woman on the back of the neck, causing her to fall to the floor. Vivi screamed from behind the cloth but before she could spit it out, Luffy had secured it, tightening a gag over the cloth. Then, he glared Vivi straight in the eye and growled to her.

"STAY...HERE..." then, dropping a shaking Vivi to the floor, Luffy walked over towards the knocked out and clothed assassin and decided to wake him up. He slapped the man hard across the face and immediately, the assassin shot up off his chair.

"What? What's going on?" the assassin groaned. Unfortunately, before he could fully recover from this surprise, Luffy grabbed him angrily by the throat and hoisted him out of the chair.

"YOU ARE GOING TO STAY HERE AND WATCH THEM!" he shouted, pointing towards Nojiko and Vivi "AND IF I COME BACK AND THEY'RE GONE, I'M GOING TO HANG YOU FROM THE BALCONY BY YOUR TONGUE! UNDERSTAND ME?" The assassin, now fully scared awake, nodded as Luffy let go of him and dashed out the door.

"Nami..." he growled under his breath "If she's not dead when I find her, I'm going to kill her..."

* * *

><p><strong>P<strong>

Nami walked to another corner, inspecting the area around her as she peaked behind it.

"At least this outfit has given me some good luck"

Nami had managed to pass through a few other Assassins' who were not yet suspicious of her and had yet to resort to her last smoke bomb. She was now currently in an outside clearing, the same one that had the training ring, the front entrance, and was where Nami remembered the entrance to the Underground was nearby.

She looked around a little more. There was currently a few Assassin's about, some practicing in the small battlefield provided, some throwing knives of some kind at some dummies, and others just idlywalking by or chatting. Nami took another breath and then adjusted her hood.

"As long as you don't show your right hand, you'll be fine." Nami said to herself "... They might question why I'm wearing a dress, but hey, I'm a girl." Nami shrugged to herself.

**S**

Nami then took a deep sigh and began to walk towards the door to the catacombs. As she neared the door, she noted there was only one guard there. The assassin was female.

"Safety and peace" she greeted as Nami approached "What can I do for you?"

"Safety and peace" Nami replied cautiously "I'm just heading down to the hot springs for a soak" The female assassin replied with a nod, before stepping out of her way.

"You're in luck! The hot springs are so warm today. I tried them earlier. You better hurry though, it'll be mixed bathing soon and I'm guessing you want some privacy"

"Oh yeah, thanks" Nami responded with a smile, bowing low before she walked towards the door. She pushed it open with her LEFT hand (hiding the right from sight) and then began to descend into the depths of the citadel. Nami grinned with victory as the door shut behind her.

"So far so...ACHOOO" Nami began to speak but was suddenly interrupted as she sneezed. For a moment, Nami was still before she kept on walking. Her mother had always been suppositious about sneezes. She had told her 'Nami, when you sneeze, it's most likely that someone's talking about you'. Of course, such an idea was ridiculous...

* * *

><p>"I'M GOING TO KILL HER! I'M GOING TO FREAKING MURDER HER!" Luffy shouted, sprinting along down the corridors. Without a second thought, he jumped some stairs in front of him, running into Ace.<p>

"Hey Luffy, what's the rush?" Ace asked as Luffy bounded past him. Luffy, however, didn't reply and kept running. He wanted to kill her when he found her...DAMN THAT CREED!

**P**

Luffy ran, no, sprinted down the hall. There was no subtlety in his movements, no classy assassination technique or circumstance that he was taking at this moment to achieve his goal. No true goal in mind besides to reach his escaped target. Once he did that, he would decide what to do with her. If she wasn't murdered by his hands, he would no doubt see to it that she would never be free to do this stunt a second time.

Luffy went down the fastest civil way to the front courtyard, remembering how he led Nami last night. He instinctively presumed she would go the same way he showed to her, for the Temple could be a pretty easy place to lose yourself the first few times you tried to find your way around. Of course, this was providing that she remembered herself. Luffy shot out to look down on the outside front area, searching every speck of the environment, living or not, in an attempt to spot the sly Jinn. It then dawned on Luffy.

"What did she look like?" Luffy searched his memories, seeing Nami's form and comparing her to his raven headed friend, Robin.

"How did she even get past her, let alone..." Luffy stopped what he was thinking, instead recalling the image of Robin's naked form.

"...Did she..." Luffy contemplated the possibility. Whilst Luffy was rather simple minded in his thought process, preferring to do what came to him on instinct, he was also a trained Assassin, and one who could think and analyse if needed. With Luffy now thinking over the situation and most likely conclusions, he started to imagine Nami in a black dress with a white hooded cloak. With that in mind, he went to go see the woman at the entrance to the Underground.

"Monkey D Luffy!" Luffy's eyebrow rose at his name being called, but then he immediately furrowed them as he turned around. Not in anger or annoyance though, rather in bile curiosity at why Inazuma, Ivonkov's right hand man wanted him.

**S**

"I don't have time to talk right now Inazuma!" Luffy called, continuing along to the underground tunnel entrance.

"This is important Master Luffy." Inazuma replied. Luffy sighed at this and gestured for Inazuma to follow him.

"Come on then, let's walk and talk." he responded. Reluctantly, Inazuma nodded and sprinted after Luffy. The female guard stood aside noticing Inazuma and the man nodded in acknowledgement as Luffy and he ran through the doorway.

"What's up then Inazuma?" Luffy continued to ask.

"Well, you see Master Luffy, your father wants you to meet him tonight," Inazuma explained "it is a matter of urgency."

"To receive my punishment?" Luffy asked, looking away from Inazuma. The golden flash nodded.

"Yes..." Inazuma replied.

"Well, I'll have to go then," the raven haired assassin growled "...but first, I need to find Nami!"

"Nami?" Inazuma asked in confusion "was she one of the girls you came in with yesterday?"

"How does everyone know about..." Luffy began, before he sighed "yes, yes she is. She's stolen Robin's uniform and is currently on the loose though. I need to find her as soon as possible before things get worse"

* * *

><p><strong>P<strong>

Nami sighed once again in frustration.

"NO ONE'S HERE!" she practically screamed. She had done all she could just to get this far, and already she was too late.

"He's probably back in his room by now... letting Nojiko and Vivi eat while I'm here at the end of a wild goose chase!" Nami lamented in a frustrated panic. She then realised her stomach was hurting, growling as it demanded food. Nami gave out another anguish moan at this

"And I've still not eaten!" She dropped to her knees, tired, scared, anxious and practically defeated. As if it wasn't bad enough for her that even trying to sneak up on her Captor was a risky and likely doomed to fail plan, let alone carrying Nojiko and Vivi out of here and getting all three of them out free, but he couldn't even find him.

"I'm barely keeping myself from being caught... how am I supposed to..?" She took multiple intakes and outtakes of breath, trying desperately to calm herself.

"I need to THINK." Nami shifted herself on her knees to concentrate, trying with all her inner might to think over any useful information that could help her in her plight.

"... First off... I have no idea where the hell I'm going." She bitterly chuckled at this first bit, finding it funny how thinking about it only made the situation more hopeless.

"There are... at least, 2, 3, 4, over 7 people who's seen me and at least 5 who could suspect me..." Nami looked down on herself. Nami searched her memories again, realizing something...

"Maybe if I changed into something less conspicuous?" At this thought, Nami got up. She remembered that Luffy left her here in the room full of geysers to get spare clothes for her.

"Maybe I could find something. One thing's for sure, I can't stay here."

**S**

With renewed determination, Nami exited the hot springs and headed into the wide open corridor. Slowly, she glanced around the corridor, scanning all of the doors. All that was left to do now was to search for the room Luffy had fetched clothes from

"Let's see," Nami thought to herself "it can't be too far away from the hot spring, as Luffy probably still wanted to keep an ear on me last night...so where could it be?" On instinct, Nami grabbed one of the random door handles on the right hand side and cautiously opened it. To her luck, the room was actually a small closet filled with rows upon rows of clothes."...That'll work..." Nami thought to herself with a smile.

**P**

Suddenly, Nami's ear perked. With a raised eyebrow, Nami turned her head down the hall.

"What..?" She stood there for a few moments, trying to figure out what the noise was, and slowly realizing it was becoming louder... Nami's breath hitched.

"Crap!" she cursed with a small squeak before going in the door and shutting it behind her lightly. Nami walked deeper into the closet, or rather stumbled. It was even darker in the room and nearly impossible to see.

"How can anyone find themselves in here, let alone clothes?" Nami muttered, feeling that everything was working against her in these circumstances. Nami blinked, however, noticing the room's layout was starting to become clearer to her. The room had become lighter all of a sudden. Not sun light, but something was definitely illuminating the room. Nami looks up, and then covers her mouth to not let out a gasp.

"A LAMP FULL OF INSECTS?" Nami screamed inside her head. Her eyes widened more, however, in both surprise and fright that they were in fact glowing. Slowly, Nami took a deep breath, telling herself that they would not get to her. They were trapped in the glass...

"But why did they turn on now?" Nami froze. For the first time since entering the room, she could hear something, or rather, someone.

"There's someone else in the room?"

* * *

><p>Earlier, Luffy, Inazuma and a few Guards were running down the Underground, currently looking for the orange headed Dancer.<p>

"Are you certain she's down here?" Inazuma asked "One wrong deduction could lead you into even more trouble."

"... She has no reason to go anywhere else." Luffy confirmed, knowing first hand her strong loyal tie the woman had with the other two Dancers.

"Very well." He said and then called to his men, "Check every room, and bring her back, alive!" Inazuma commanded and the assassins scattered as he and Luffy ran directly to the hot spring. Luffy quickly opens the door and scanned the whole room for any signs of her.

**S**

Failing to spot the dancer, Luffy groaned loudly and, in a small burst of rage, he kicked out at the nearby wall with a roar of rage.

"That wasn't nice," Inazuma said in a dull tone, staring at the new scratch on the wall "what did that wall ever do to you?" Luffy almost laughed but stopped himself as he sighed.

"Look, I just want to find her. I kept her alive because of my own stupid creed and now, she's on the loose...I must be one pathetic assassin, huh?"

"Of course not Master Luffy." Inazuma murmured, gently patting the man on the shoulder "You have upheld your own honour. It is just too bad about the punishment..." Nami's eyes widened at this andshe pressed her ear closer to where she could hear the voices. Punishment? Were they talking about Vivi and Nojiko? Were they going to get hurt? She shuddered at the thought. Luffy nodded in agreement

"...When is it going to be again?"

"Tonight, in the sacred halls." Inazuma informed him "That is usually where punishments of this magnitude are performed..."

"...I-isn't there another way?" Luffy suddenly asked. Inazuma gave him a look of disbelief and sighed.

"The crimes that have been committed against the creed MUST be punished." the golden flash explained.

"...I suppose so..." Luffy reluctantly replied, before looking upwards down the corridor "...we best get going through. We need to find her before Dragon dishes out the punishment tonight..."

* * *

><p><strong>P<strong>

Nami listened as the men behind the wall start moving again out of her ear shot, but Nami had heard enough... or that's what she hoped as she took her ear off the wall that was conveniently not thick enough for her to hear their conversation, even if it was a muffled along with separating her from the room to the Hot spring. She turned her head abruptly to listen to another figure approaching closer APPROACHING HER! With no time to loose, Nami quietly leans down she was on her bum, removing her shoes before hastily getting up again, carrying her footwear, sneaking around to conceal herself within the hanging clothing. Nami quickly searched for any means to escape as her flexible and soft, but by no means too delicate, feet walk on the dirty ground. Suddenly she spotted a basket.

"... I can't believe I'm desperate enough to do this." Nami thought to herself in distress. It was not that she didn't believe hiding in a basket could work mind you. Rather she was too careful to rely on such a trick, for if you were spotted inside a container, whether by opening the lid or not, you would practically have packed yourself for abduction. Still, Nami only slightly hesitated before opening the lid and hurriedly spilling out the contents... but as she was about to climb into it, she had an idea.

"If I'm over thinking this, I'm going to never live this down!" Nami cried in her head in distraught before quickly stripping herself of the coat and dress she had stolen from Robin, (but keeping her footwear and the wrist guards.) throwing it into the bundle of clothing she just spilled before climbing into the basket, taking with her all the things she kept and as well as quite a bit of the bundle of cloths, before a bit clumsily closing the lid above her. Adjusting the lid slightly and placing the cloths above her head to cover her, Nami sat there as still as she possibly could, awaiting to see if she still had a bit of luck left that would see her through this.

**S**

It took a while but finally, the assassin grew tired of his search and quietly skulked out of the room and into the corridor. Slowly and cautiously, Nami gently heaved herself out of the basket and, then she sat once more, waiting for a short while before she acted again. After a small rest, Nami sighed and quickly changed into another pair of assassin's robes. Unlike Robin's, these robes seemed much more bulky and were obviously not meant for a female. Also, the assassin garb seemed to rather suit that of an assassin recruit than a fully-fledged Assassin like Robin. Without hesitation, however, Nami quickly put the clothes on. All the while, however, her mind was preoccupied.

Punishment...they were going to punish Vivi and Nojiko...and, presumably if she was caught, they'd punish her too...

Of course, she wasn't going to let that happen. How to get to the girl's, however, remained a problematic thought. Soon, Nami was in her new clothes. She was dressed head to toe in a pure white robe with a hood. Across her waist, she wore a small leather belt, of which weapons could be strapped to. Unfortunately for her, the only weapon she had was the pole she had stolen; she was forced to find another holster, in order for her to keep the weapon strapped to her back. Finally, once she was dressed in her new attire, she gave a satisfied nod. Now, she had to get to business. With a deep breath, Nami quickly pulled up her hood and opened the door to the outside corridor. Cautiously, she stepped outside and...

"Hey you!" a voice suddenly shouted.

"Shit!" Nami thought, turning to face an assassin with a nervous shudder.

"Was she in there?" the assassin asked calmly.

"What?" Nami asked in surprise.

"Was that dancing girl in there?" the assassin specified. Quickly taking in the situation in, Nami shook her head.

"No, she wasn't." she replied. The assassin sighed.

"All right then, we best get checking the other rooms for her then. Come on!" he instructed and turned on his heel. Nami followed him.

"These guys are blind..." Nami thought to herself, following the man with a sly smile. Of course, she didn't really mind that...

* * *

><p><strong>P<strong>

Luffy walked out from the Hot spring, having checked the area with Inazuma only to find nothing. All that was left was just to wait and hear Inazuma's men's report. They stood in the general area for a while before Inazuma's men returned and gathered around. Inazuma took a quick inspection to find that none of them had the young Dancer, struggling or otherwise.

"Nothing then?" Inazuma asked expectantly. One of his men stepped forward hesitantly.

"... I could not find the girl, but I found these..." At this Luffy walked forward to inspect the man's findings.

"Clothes?" Luffy thought to himself, but then his eyebrows furrowed in realization and he took them off his hands.

"... These resemble the clothing you had described to us on the way here." The guard explained. Luffy unfolded them and quickly confirmed that they were indeed Robin's cloths. Luffy growled at this.

"She changed clothes." Luffy deduced out loud in mild frustration "She's probably long gone by now!"

"And likely into more generic garbs..." Inazuma added thoughtfully. He then inspected his men once again. Nothing seemed odd. He counted them just in case though but finding the number hadn't lessened or grown. She wasn't hiding among them. This could have meant that Luffy was right and she left a while ago, but there was always the possibility...

"Did anyone find anything odd at any time when amongst yourselves?" This confused everyone in the room. They all looked at each other, partly in wonder at his words and partly to heed them as they searched their memories that would suggest an answer to his question. Luffy sighed, however, and decided to walk off.

"May I inquire to where you are going?" Inazuma asked. Luffy stopped and turns around to face him.

"My room. I need to give these back, and it's the most likely place for the girl to show up anyway." Luffy explained. Inazuma understood this reasoning and nodded his head. He, however, felt he needed to remind Luffy. Before he could however, Luffy spoke again.

"I'll be there tonight, willingly and on time." Luffy confirmed with full honesty. Inazuma stared at him for a moment before nodding his head again.

"Very well, Safety and Peace."

"Safety and Peace." Luffy said in return before walking off.

* * *

><p>Nami calmly walked out of the Underground and passed the Woman who had been guarding the door. She didn't say anything, didn't question why she was alone or voice whether she recognized her or not, and she was glad for that. Nami smiled as she disappears into the crowd of Assassins unnoticed, safe from discovery, at least for the moment.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>

It was ironic in a way. Luffy had always been the person hiding in secret, blending into the crowds and doing everything he could to avoid being spotted. Right now, however, a complete amateur was defeating him at his own game. It irritated Luffy to no end as he stamped down the hallways. Every assassin who crossed his path was confronted and interviewed by the assassin as Luffy's desperation lowered into new levels of hopelessness. Unfortunately for Luffy, none of the assassins he met on the way back up to his room had any knowledge of where Nami was. By now, the word of a hidden assailant in the midst of the order had spread to all of the other assassins and now, almost everyone was engaged in the desperate search. Luffy sighed loudly at the situation. If he wasn't going to be punished already, he was certainly in for it now. Even as he reached his room once again, his rage had not subsided. Stepping inside the room, however, Luffy was surprised by what he saw. Nojiko and Vivi were still in place and now, both of them were sitting against a wall, being watched by two assassin guards. Robin, however, was absent from her bed.

"Where is she?" Luffy asked, turning to look at the other assassins with a glare.

"I'm the one who should be asking the questions here Luffy." a gruff voice spoke up from behind him. With a shudder, Luffy turned around to look the green haired assassin in the eye. Zoro did not look pleased with the situation.

**P**

Luffy frowned at his friends displeased look. It was clear he was not happy. Cautiously, Luffy looked back towards the two guards and the Dancers.

"Outside, I'll explain the situation." Zoro nodded briefly at this, allowing Luffy to pass as he opens the door and lets them both out before closing it again.

"I want answers Luffy. What happened here?" Zoro asked patiently, though still quite sternly. Luffy scratched his head for a moment, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself... but the Orange haired Dancer has escaped." Luffy informed him. Zoro didn't react, his expression didn't change, and his next question was spoken almost instantly. "How?"

"I... I don't know, I left to clean up the other two, and when I got back she was gone..."

"You left her alone?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow. "Surely you didn't forget to lock the door."

"NO!" Luffy exclaimed, "... Well, I didn't lock it, but Robin was there!"

"Is that so?" Zoro asked inquisitively. He paused for a few moments before opening his mouth to ask another question. Before he could however, Luffy spoke up.

"Listen, I don't know how, but..." Luffy looked down, just remembering what he was holding and hands them to Zoro who inspected them in mild confusion. "The Dancer seemed to manage to knock out Robin and steal her cloths. But she's switched them though, and we're all looking for her right now." Luffy looked towards Zoro, who just stood there quietly, no longer looking at Luffy.

"So..." Zoro finally spoke "Robin got caught off guard by this Dancer?" Luffy thought over the question for a bit, before nodding his head slowly.

"I think so, but Robin was left on my hammock, and..."

"Don't worry about that, I have it covered." Zoro said before walkingaround him "Thanks."

"Huh?" Luffy asked in confusing, looking back as Zoro walks away.

A while later, Zoro walked into a dark room, one with only a small portion of light that flickered absently as Zoro closed the door behind him. A light muffled noise was heard at this, but Zoro ignored this as he locked the door behind him. He then slowly walked towards the middle of the room, approaching a lone figure. He stopped in front of the figure, staring at it for a moment, before reaching out to roughly to grab a woman's chin.

"My dear little Robin, I've good news." Zoro said softly. Robin did not answer, and just waited for the man to continue. "I've found your clothes." Zoro informed her, lightly throwing the fabric elsewhere. Robin heard this and grunted slightly. "Unfortunately though, I also have bad news." He said, just as softly" Robin again doesn't try to answer and again awaits his him to continue.

"I'm not happy, do you know why?" Zoro asked, feeling up Robin's arm that was suspending over her head, tied together with her other by the wrists. Her left flexible leg was bounded by her ankle and calves, forcing it to strain upward as her right foot stood on the ground, forced to shakily stand by her tip toes do to her suspension. Whatever else was hidden in darkness, but Robin's face was clear to Zoro. He looked into her blindfold eyes, listening how she grunted beneath the cloth tied around her mouth that was holding in a ball of cloth.

"I'm disappointed in you."

**S**

Robin's body tensed at the insult and Zoro sighed, tracing his hand gently along Robin's chin, caressing it softly.

"You're an assassin Robin...and you were caught off guard, weren't you?" Zoro continued to mock her, looking away from the blindfold with a grunt "even worse, you were defeated by a dancing girl. A girl who stands in the light defeated the mistress of shadows. It is an embarrassing fact" then, Zoro leaned in closer to Robin's ear and gently whispered into it "how do you feel about that?" As usual, Robin did not respond, except for shivering slightly at the cold breath on her ear lobe.

**P**

"... And to make matters worse," Zoro said, leaning himself more into her body, "By the time I found you, you were unconscious in another man's room, completely bare and easy to sweep away." Zoro informed her. Robin's body cringed at both Zoro's words and the contact between their bodies, anticipating what Zoro was up to and shivering against his worm form.

"You were too easy to catch this time, and for all this, you will be punished." Robin shifted her head in confusion as Zoro suddenly lets go of her and walks away.

"...What?" Robin thought, morbidly curious what he had in mind when he said he would 'punish' her.

"Surely he doesn't intend to whip me." Robin commented to herself. Robin just stood there, not that she had much choice, on her one leg, waiting ever so patiently for Zoro to return to her. Her keenly trained ears at the very least, a sense that she greatly relied on that Zoro chose not to hinder, gave her a clue to the upcoming event, listening as what she presumed to be fabric of some kind softly hitting the floor. She gasped when she was suddenly groped by Zoro's hand, shivering as it wonders downward.

"I am going to torment you." Zoro whispered to her. "I can take you anytime I want, but I'm going to make you crave me." Zoro explained to the helpless woman as his hands slither around her exposed body. "I'll torture you, until you beg me to truly violate you, my dear Robin." And with that said, Zoro began to send Robin into a world torture like no other...

But I'm not going to bore you with the details of these two's private alone time. Instead we shall focus on what I'm sure you all REALLY want to see. Let us resume the actual plot.

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>

After returning to his room, Luffy initially considered relieving the guards of their duties but, remembering how easily Robin, one of their most skilled assassins had failed to prevent Nami's escape, he had decided to keep the guards there as added insurance that the girls could not escape. Whilst Nami might have disappeared, he did still have the other two girls, so he doubted that Nami would flee without them. She'd try to find a way to release them...so all that meant was that he had to sit and wait patiently. Sooner or later, Nami would show herself, either to him or to the other assassins and when she did, she'd be defeated and quickly locked up again...Until then, all that was left to was to focus on more important matters...

"Royal flush!" Luffy announced, dropping his cards onto the table. The two assassins groaned, flinging their cards down in frustration.

"Are you sure you aren't cheating?" one of the hooded men asked.

"Nothing up my sleeve!" Luffy replied, whilst he flicked out his hidden blade, getting a laugh from the two across the table.

Plus, if Luffy had to waste some time, at least he could do it in style...

* * *

><p>Nami was tired. No dance she had ever performed was wearing her out quite as much as this was. Her acting skills had improved but she was slowing down. She was still down in the training ground, searching for herself in a futile attempt at fitting in but right now, she wanted to run. She wanted to get away from everyone and plan her next course of action. Knowing of her escape, the assassins would most likely put Vivi and Nojiko in lockdown, keeping a close eye on them if they attempted to escape. It was becoming clearer that the only way she'd be able to get them out of here was to smuggle them away either just before or during the 'punishment' that Luffy had spoken of later. The assassins would hardly expect her to do such a foolish thing as to directly take them right from under their noses. Nami grimaced at the thought and gripped the last smoke bomb in her pouch. She'd have to use it to aid in their escape...but it would still be risky...She needed to plan very carefully her next course of action. It would be her last chance at getting her sister and her friend out unharmed...<p>

**P**

Time... was like a creeping drop of blood at this point for one particular Assassin.

He couldn't decide whether it was slivering by too quickly, or flowing down too slowly. He spent the entire day that was left in his room, just letting time go bye. All the while, he waited, hoping that any hour, any minute, and any second now that he would see her again. He longed to see her pulled, pushed and dragged back into his room and shoved down towards his feet in her sorry state. Down, defeated, and forced to deal with however he decided to give the ungrateful tricky sneak a piece of his mind! All throughout the day, he had plenty of times to imagine how exactly he was going to do so and had come up with a disturbing amount of varied ways to humiliate and stick a knife down her throat.

"Or maybe I'll just settle for using her as my next training dummy?" he thought, smiling a bit too happily as he imagined all the ways he could beat the defenceless girl to an unrecognisable pulp "That will show her!"

However, such thoughts were mainly used to simply vent the young man's anger and frustration at all the trouble one woman has seemingly piled on into the span of a measly few days, not helped by how he was denied the opportunity to even CONSIDER acting out such horrid fates for his Former Captive. He merely occupied his time in waiting for one of the two inevitable events by playing with the other two men in his room, working briefly at his desk, which he had earlier found to be missing a few things much to his confusion, and laying in his hammock as he cut away the plank of wood he had been working on since arriving back...

Time... was a creeping drop of blood for this Assassin. It felt like it was standing still, and was moving swiftly. He felt isolated from the rest of the world as he just stared at the shapely figure in his hand he had stopped working on for the moment... a feeling that made him flinch uncontrollably when the time finally came.

"Are you ready Master Luffy?"

"..." He said nothing for a few moments, before looking away from the individual and towards his other two Captives in his room. He got up and walked towards them, kneeling down to make sure they were still securely bounded, sorting them out for the night and instructing the guards to keep a constant watchful eye and NOT try anything. When he was done, he faced the door, then replying to the previous question;

"...I'm ready."

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>

She was ready.

She had been patient and calm and now, her waiting had paid off.

In a swift motion, Nami leapt from the hay-stack she had been hiding in, glancing around in an attempt to notice anyone who could stop her. Luckily, she had located the perfect spot to hide. The eastern tower of Dawn temple was almost empty for the moment. Nami guessed that most of the guards had left to go to lunch, whilst the guards on duty were currently snoring away at their places. They had not gotten much of a break today, looking for some orange haired witch and now, they were taking a much needed break. Not one of the sleeping guards heard the soft pitter patter of footsteps as Nami walked calmly over towards a nearby sword rack. Calmly, Nami pulled out one of the blades, briefly inspecting it, before carefully shoving it into an awaiting sheath which she had strapped to her new assassin garb with a long red sash. Slowly, she raised her hands upwards, gaining a tight grip on her white hood. With a sudden defiant breath of air, she pulled her hands forward, dragging the pale hood over her orange locks. Shadows leered out of the hood, casting over her eyes.

Nami fingered the hilt of her sword with her right hand and with her left; she gently squeezed the smoke bomb trapped securely in her pocket. With a new unwavering courage, she stepped forwards out of the shadows of her hiding place. From the large open part of the tower she was standing in, she had acquired a perfect view of a bright blood red sunset in the west, highlighting the various large windows from which bird like perches loomed behind Nami. The dancer had heard some of the assassins mumble something about a 'leap of faith' but she had done little to investigate. She had more pressing matters to attend to...

Once again, the clock had started ticking and this time, Nami was more than ready to meet whatever was waiting for her.

* * *

><p><strong>P<strong>

Luffy was in no hurry to get to where he was supposed to go.

Nami needed to get their as fast as possible.

The Boy knew exactly where he was being taken.

The Girl had yet to deduce where to turn.

Never the less though, the young man followed his escort with no intention of running. He was fully prepared for the upcoming pain.

All the while young woman was risking life and limb to find a guide. With this thought in mind, she debated going back to the first place she saw, which would be the office that she was carried away from when she first got here. Maybe she could ascend to Luffy's room, which she may be able to catch her friends being led out…

On the one hand, it would be extremely dangerous heading towards where the leader of a whole Clan of Assassins worked. But then the later choice would probably not only be heavily guarded, but also more expected of her. With little choice, she decided to go for the former, with the added bonus of it being near where she could search around for information. She just needed to pray she wasn't spotted and pray harder she could find a lead...

As calmly as she could, she made her way towards the large area she was first dragged from.

**S**

The courtyard was dark now and very dimly lit indeed. Only the occasional torch on the side of the walls illuminated the path and even then, the torches were scarce with lots of space between each one. Nami couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. The darkness was perfect for her to sneak up closer to the main citadel's entrance. The main library, just near the main entrance, was filled with numerous assassins, some who were now in more relaxed attire, reading a pleasant book. Nami ignored the relaxed assassins and strolled confidently forwards, dodging the passing scholars, two of which almost barred her way due to the heated debate they were in. Overall, however, Nami remained calm. Her breathing was relaxed and despite the odd shifty nature of her eyes, she appeared to be acting normal enough that no-one spotted her.

"So far so good," she thought to herself "now, I just need to find where that 'punishment' is taking place"

As soon as the thought had vanished from Nami's head, she heard a loud voice calling from nearby. Luckily, the voice was not calling to her...but it was definitely saying something. Nami glanced around for a moment, attempting to locate the source of the voice when finally, she spotted exactly where the voice was coming from.

* * *

><p>"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember,"<p>

"NOTHING IS TRUE."

"Where other men are limited by morality and law, remember,"

"EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED." Dragon sighed with content as the words were repeated back to him. Behind him, two nameless assassins, his personal bodyguards, stood in wait. They were the ones who had recited the creed back to him during his evening chant. With another sigh, Dragon dipped his hands gently into the large dish of water in front of him, before wiping the water onto his face. If he was going to lead the assassins in their chant before the punishment of his only son, he at least wanted to look good...

His son...

Dragon winced slightly at the thought.

No, he couldn't lose himself in petty emotions now.

Luffy had done wrong.

He was an assassin first and he needed to be punished for his failure...

With that thought, Dragon at last gave a nod and turned on his heel, heading away from the grand master desk he had been standing at…Neither of the guards notice the watchful brown eye that had been observing them from across the room.

"Jackpot..."

**P**

Nami waited as the man descended the circular stair case that led to the dark gloomy room that she had previously been in before she was carried off into the Gardens along with her friends, waiting as he came down to her level... and somehow, she didn't even need to turn back as he approached. As if she could just FEEL his very presence, she began to sweat profusely as he merely passed her, only calming down when she heard him leave the vicinity. She listened in for a few more seconds while taking the time to calm down before she herself made her exit. As calculated, he was at about the right distance as the three assassins made their way through the courtyard while she took the liberty of making her own way down.

Despite the distance between them however, Nami paced herself as she alternated between walking in a calm, almost casual manner, to working her way to as many potential hiding places as possible as her unsuspecting guides led her to the destination she was hoping to get to in time.

"I need to play this safe." was what she constantly reminded herself as she trailed the leader of the assassins, as he made his way through around twist and turns through the temple, all the while completely unaware of her presence.

"...Sir?" One of The grand master's faithful body Guards spoke up.

"If you are about to refer to why I'm extending the path to our destination, then do not."

And that was all that was said of the matter, all the way through as they made their way to the Sacred Hall.

**S**

Nami continued to trail the assassin leader, her gentle footsteps soundlessly tapping on the floor as she walked along. Her breathing was so quiet that for a moment, the dancer wondered whether she was breathing at all, or whether she was now merely living on sheer courage. As it turned out, she was indeed still breathing and Nami took comfort in that fact. Now, her exact pace was matching the pace of Dragon and his own men, but she was also making sure to stay out of sight and to distance herself when most appropriate. Despite her white clothing, she had become a shadow, fleeting quickly out of sight from cover to cover. So far, she had been quite successful. Dragon had not yet spotted her in her trailing, despite his alert senses. Normally, Nami would have gotten quite happily conceited by this fact but now, she was being much more careful and watchful of her own didn't have time for pride right now, she had to keep an eye on where Dragon was heading. It was the only way of finding her sister and her friend...

Dragon wasn't even three doors from the sound when he heard a loud familiar voice.

"HONESTLY, SOMETIMES THIS HOOD GETS TOO MUCH FOR ME!"

"Please, calm yourself Master. You need to be fully prepared for tonight's ceremony and it is expected that you appear in full uniform!"

"But no-one can see my face! AND IT'S TOO WARM IN HERE...I...think...I...could...faint from this..."

As the group rounded the corner, the two assassin bodyguards were most shocked to see a senior member of their order lying on the ground, panting for air. Standing over the man was Inazuma, who didn't appear to be amused at his master's behaviour. Out from underneath the large hood provided, a big bushy purple afro stuck out.

"MASTER IVANKOV!" the bodyguards cried in worry. As soon as the words left their lips, the two bodyguards were beside Ivankov, making sure the man was okay. Ivankov coughed loudly, spluttering in his illness.

"I...I...I..." Without warning, the large faced man leapt off the floor and stuck a triumphant pose of victory.

"I'M OKAY!" he yelled loudly, slapping his knee at the joke "IT'S TOO WARM!~HEE-HAW!"

"Oh, you got us Master Ivankov!" the two assassins commented with a sigh of relief, almost laughing at the misunderstanding. Dragon did not seem amused in the slightest.

"Good evening Ivankov." he replied in a monotone voice. He was used to Ivankov's attitude by now and had decided long ago that making a scene of it would just be wasting time, seeing how his friend never changed his ways "How're you on this nice night?" Ivankov immediately stood to attention as the grand master spoke, his grin never faltering for an instant.

"Why I'm doing splendid Master Dragon! Can't you tell from the large grin on my face? You of all people should be able to spot a face such as mine after all! HEE-HAW~" Dragon smirked at Ivankov's announcement, before shaking his head and refocusing his attention.

* * *

><p><strong>P<strong>

Nami watched as subtly as she could from down the hall. She peaks her head out from the wall to spy on the Grand Master as he briefly conversed to a larger man. She couldn't make out who the later person was however.

"Whoever he is, he's so loud."

She then kept herself even more hidden as they began to move again. It was only then when an excruciating fact becomes apparent to her for the first time, something she failed to consider until now as her eyes widen at the two assassin's being instructed to stay behind, as the two men enter the room she presumed her friends were, CLOSING the door behind them...

"Oh crap." Nami muttered in distress as she then leans on the wall she was hiding behind, thinking over her options again...

Whatever she had to do, she had to do it fast.

"They're counting on me." Nami chanted to herself as she pushed herself off the wall.

* * *

><p>Using whatever knowledge of the building she already had and after some searching around some more, Nami found there was only one possible way to even have a chance of getting around that door… Out a window. As it turned out, the only other way to get into the tower was through a window opening, which meant climbing out of one and keeping her back to the wall as a rocky cliff edge where the temple was built on top of greeted her.<p>

"...Don't look down, don't look down, calm down." Nami said to herself repeatedly as she carefully leaned and shimmed across. Fortunately, our persistent and multi-talented Nami just happened to be an experienced climber. It had been a long while since she had to use her pakour skills, but right now she was desperate enough to use them.

"Well, at least it can't get any worse." And as if the architecture itself had a malevolent sense of humour, the narrow edge Nami was stepping over just then happens to crumble down, making Nami fall down with it. Despite letting out a very high pitch scream at her sudden misfortune, she miraculously enough still managed to grab a hold of some leverage, clinging to it for dear life at her lucky save.

"...Okay..." Nami breathed, taking another moment to rest before making her way up the tower high above, and with much excruciating effort, she managed to actually make it to the window leading inside the building, slowly pulling herself over it... and then proceeded to lean on top of it in a shaky mess.

Nami lay where she was, exhausted from the climb and her heart ached from beating in her chest from the shaky terrifying climb. For a moment, she just wanted to lie down, wait to be found and captured again for at least then she would probably be safe again…

"...Come on, I've almost made it, right." Only then did Nami focus on what she was hearing, other than the cold wind from the outside, as she looked up from her leaning position.

**S**

The noise itself sounded like it was coming from inside the room. It was sure she had heard before. Slowly, Nami scrambled inside the tower through the open window, landing on the floor with a gentle thud. For a moment, Nami's eyes were shut tightly, praying she hadn't been heard...Once again, luck was on her side. Slowly, Nami surveyed the room around her. It was a dark one with no candle or lantern illuminating the way. The only light she could find was a cold sapphire ray that shone down from the rising moon and a bright crimson glow that emerged from a small hole in the floor of the tower. Nami glanced around the area and quickly began to realise she was in some sort of storage room. Chests and crates filled the corners of the room, leaving the hole in the floor open to sight. Slowly, Nami moved forwards towards the hole in the floor, trying to make as little noise as possible as she moved. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted some kind of rope hanging along the wooden beams. Nami recognised that these ropes were linked to the hole and a large hook which hung high above the hole, just out of her reach. Nami noted these objects for a moment, but became increasingly more concerned with the noise, which was growing louder as she approached the hole.

"Destroy the corruption, protect the meek," a strong determined voice called from out of sight.

"Search through shadows, find the truth we seek." a crowd of voices responded.

"Protect the order with all our might."

"We work in the dark to serve the light."

"We are assassins!" all of the voices confirmed together as Nami finally reached a crouching point beside the hole. Looking down, she got a clear view of the middle of the stone room. From the large size of the room she was in, Nami highly suspected that the room below was far bigger than this, with balconies and crowd stands for the assassins to watch her sister and friend's punishment.

"Assholes..." she muttered to herself, but once more, the chanting called out quite loudly, alerting Nami that events were moving forwards.

"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember"

"NOTHING IS TRUE"

"Where other men are limited by morality and law, remember"

"EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED"

With that, all noise became silenced. Nami did not know what was happening now but she knew whatever was happening, it was just about to get started...

* * *

><p><strong>ENDING MEMORY SESSION... (Insert instructive advice here.)<strong>

**Polar: ...**

**Shadow: Well, I hope you all enjoyed that...you won't be expecting another for a while now though right?**

**...**

**What you do? WHEN WILL YOU PEOPLE EVER BE SATISFIED!?**  
><strong>POLAR, TAKE OVER!<strong>

**Polar: ...*Get's up and leaves...***

**Shadow: Polar, buddy! COME BACK! DON'T LEAVE ME TO ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS!**

**...**

**Er, hey guys...I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review, constructive criticism is welcome, all that good stuff and hopefully we'll get the next chapter done a bit quicker next time :D**  
><strong>See you next time.<strong>

**Advice and Criticism would be appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading.**


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